Falling In Love With a Heartbreaker was Stupid
by WatashiNoTenshi07
Summary: Sakura Haruno, forced to do a movie with her past almost-lover, Uchiha Sasuke, reminisces her high school memories with her bestfriend and manager, Ino Yamanaka, to convince her to cancel the upcoming project. Will it end good? *REVISED SUMMARY!*
1. Chapter 1: Reminiscing Memories

_**A/N: Hiya guys ! This is my second attempt at fanfic writing! So more or less I'm still a beginner in these things so I apologize for the errors I have possibly made. Please review! A few advices could really help boost my confidence! And please no flames, I'm not really good at accepting criticisms. If you'd be so kind to correct me, please do it nicely, ne? Thanks!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Sadly, I only own the plot. T_T**_

_**Enjoy the first chapter….

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"What?" Sakura Haruno asked – or more likely shrieked – at her blonde manager-slash-annoying best friend, Ino Yamanaka. Ino, surprised at her temperamental best friend's reaction, raised a platinum blonde eyebrow in inquiry.

"What do you mean what? I said you, Sakura Haruno, are going to do a movie with Sasuke Uchiha." She said slowly, as if talking to a retarded kindergartener while checking Sakura's schedule for today.

"But, why him?" She asked exasperated.

"Why not him?" Ino countered.

"Why didn't you inform me about this earlier? You could've asked me before you agreed! Ugh, I am so not doing this." She said huffing in anger then crossed her arms in infuriation.

"Sakura Haruno, give me one good reason why you don't want to do a freakin' movie with Uchiha Sasuke. And why is this a big deal, anyway? You didn't even throw a fit like this when you were asked to do a music video with Gaara No Sabaku." She shuddered at the thought of the tattooed & insomniac band vocalist.

"Hey! Panda-kun's a nice guy! If you got to know him better." Sakura defended him.

"Panda? Where the hell did that come from?" Ino asked her gossip senses tingling.

"Um… Nothing! I was just teasing him about his eyes. He said it was natural." Sakura remembered.

"Seriously? I thought he had a truckload of eyeliners for his eyes to look like that every time." Ino said.

"Anyways, that's not the point! I asked you why you agreed to this, this monstrosity!" She thundered, pointing an accusing glare at Ino's direction.

"Pfft. Monstrosity? Yeah, right. You're overreacting, forehead." Ino called her with her childhood nickname.

She glared harder.

"Okay, okay, fine." She grumbled.

Sakura almost bounced in joy when Ino was clutching her mobile phone. Then, as she typed the numbers of Sasuke Uchiha's manager, Shikamaru Nara (which she has a not-so-secret crush on), she hesitated. And Sakura's face fell in disappointment.

"Wait, you didn't tell me your reason yet." She remembered before she could press the 'call button'.

"Uhm… I don't like him… very much." She said, her eyes avoiding Ino's intent gaze on her.

"You're lying." Ino accused. She flinched.

"I always know when you're lying. You avoid eye contact with me. You're such a bad liar, forehead." She stated.

The girl interrogated gulped nervously.

"I… I knew him once." She twiddled and connected her two index fingers, much like Hinata Hyuuga, their well-renowned singer of a best friend.

"When?" Ino fired back, rapidly. Eager – much too eager – for the upcoming gossip.

"During my middle school days." She answered back.

It kinda reminded her of the psychological examinations where you had to answer with the first thing that comes into your mind. She knew that if her blonde best friend weren't a model, her manager, and a fashion designer, she knew she would make a great interrogator.

"That's it?" Ino asked, unconvinced. "You were throwing a huge temper tantrum because you don't want to do a movie with Sasuke Uchiha, the modern day Adonis, just because he was your schoolmate back in the days?" She asked, sarcasm dripping like acid on her tongue.

"Ugh, of course that's not just it, Ino!" She snapped back.

"Then, what?" She asked.

"I… I-I had a crush on him." Sakura said in a wavering voice. The last three words were merely a whisper but Ino's keen sense of hearing for gossip and rumors heard it as clear as a bell.

"What? How? Why?" she said, sprouting a dozen of other questions before she was able to draw another breath in. There goes the interrogator again…

"Will you please calm down? I'll just tell you all about it. Then, will you stop bugging me?" She asked annoyed and embarrassed at the same moment. She knew that she would never be able to go out of this room again if she didn't tell Ino all the 'juicy details', as she called it. Ino's curiosity was really too much. Maybe when God sprinkled curiosity in the world, Ino grabbed all of it for herself.

Ino nodded twice, her head bobbing up and down like some over-obedient puppy. Her eyes were gleaming as she imagined all the possibilities of a high school romance between her pink-haired BFF and the stunning, gorgeous, handsome, dazzling, striking, good-looking, alluring onyx-eyed Sasuke Uchiha.

"It all started on a Friday. It was our second to the last subject Drama Class…" Sakura started narrating her high school life. The words flowed through her mouth like a memorized fairy tale. The words melting in together to form a soothing harmony…

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"Alright! Listen up, maggots!" Anko Mitarashi, the drama class teacher, thundered.

The previously noise-filled classroom turned deathly silent.

Satisfied with the result of her intimidating voice and frosty glare, she cleared her throat before speaking,

"We're going to do a play for the upcoming Sakura festival. It's about a prince falling in love with an ordinary peasant girl and all that crap. And for your information, I did not choose this kind of story. Maito Gai did."

Groans of distaste and squeals of enthusiasm were heard at the same time. Then, the room erupted into a chaos of chatter. Girls were gushing about how they were excited to do a completely cheesy romance story. While the guys groaned in irritation and mumbled things like: Worthless Gai-sensei… Should've taken him out when I had the chance… Stupid hopeless romantic… Trying to take all his love life frustrations out on us…

Anko, totally annoyed by all the chatter, boomed…

"Shut up! Anyone I hear talking will be sent to a one-week detention with Ibiki." She threatened.

All the students in the room turned silenced themselves at the mention of the terror teacher, Morino Ibiki.

She smirked, sensing their distress. She grabbed the fishbowl full of rolled-up paper from the edge of the wooden table.

"Now, I'll pick the person who'll be playing as the Prince. One more thing, once I have picked someone's name as that character, there will be no more complaints and objections. Or else…" She glared at practically every pupil in the room with her challenging glare.

She didn't need to end the last sentence; the students already knew what words followed after that: Detention with none other than, Morino Ibiki, the retired military interrogator. And they were sure as hell that it wasn't just an empty threat.

When nobody dared to speak, she continued…

"So, for the male protagonist, the prince…"

Majority of the male populace of the room had their fingers crossed.

She dunked her hand into the fishbowl. Then she grabbed a rolled-up piece of paper from the bottom of the glass bowl.

She opened the piece of paper. She smirked evilly as she saw whose name it was.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Anko spoke in a loud smug voice.

The boys silently grunted in disappointment. Then, all eyes were on THE Sasuke Uchiha.

He was tall. He had a pale complexion, and a perfect face. He possessed a straight nose, high cheekbones and raven-haired silky hair. His hair was dark blue, almost black. It spiked up at the back, in a gravity-defying manner and his bangs framed the sides of his face nicely, accentuating his prominent cheekbones. But the most remarkable feature of his was his eyes. His eyes were onyx, as black as midnight. His eyes were so captivating you would probably drown in them. All in all, he was gorgeous.

He had his chin on top of his hand that was propped up on the table. His face was warped in obvious boredom. When he heard his name called and the stares he was receiving, he raised one aristocratic eyebrow. Then he stared at the teacher, when all he got was still silence, he grumbled,

"Hn. Annoying." Then he was back into his original position: chin resting on the palm of his hand and staring out of the window.

That short but snarky remark made one of Anko's eyebrow twitch in annoyance. She ignored the Uchiha's comment then continued on with the name-picking. She announced,

"Then, for the female protagonist, the peasant girl…" She repeated what she did just a second ago. All that changed was her reaction. Instead of smirking in satisfaction, her eyes bulged out slightly in surprise. Then that awfully evil grin was plastered on her face.

"Haruno Sakura." She declared.

The girl spoken to, snapped her head up in surprise, obviously caught off guard, from the thick book she was reading.

The girl had the most exotic and exquisite beauty. She had vibrant and sparkling emerald orbs. Her eyes portrayed innocence that only a few women in the classroom possessed. Her eyes were so clear and speak so much about her. It was like reading her soul through her viridian eyes.

Her lively eyes were matched with bright pink hair that ended at the middle of her back. She had it tied in a half-ponytail with a red ribbon. She had a pretty heart-shaped face with slightly rounded cheekbones. She had her uniform worn in the proper way, unlike some of her _slutty _classmates, and she had black-rimmed glasses on.

The girl blushed and shivered at the same time. Blushed, because of all the stares she's been getting and shivered, because of all the jealous glares that were boring a hole at her head.

She ignored the stares and glares then continued reading, oblivious to the onyx-eyes that were focused on her reading form.

"Sakura Haruno, huh? This should be interesting." Uchiha Sasuke mused.

After all the other minor characters were announced, the aggressive teacher spoke,

"We'll start practicing by the Friday of next week. I'll give all of you your scripts by Monday. I expect you are halfway memorizing your lines by the time we start practicing. Understood?" she spoke in a threatening tone.

Most of the students were biting their tongue to avoid groaning in frustration and from complaining. It would most definitely result in getting them to spend time with Morino Ibiki.

"Alright. Class dismissed." She said when nobody else asked questions.

The students filed out of the room one by one. The room was empty of students except one. Anko looked up to see Sakura Haruno still in the classroom. The girl was walking towards her table. She bowed slightly then said…

"Anko-sensei, may I ask you one question?" She asked politely.

"If it's about the roles on the play, there's no chance I'll let you off the hook for being the peasant girl. I'm sorry but what's done is done. It won't be fair if I allowed you to have your role replaced, kiddo." She said.

"Oh… I see." She sighed. She was about to head out of the room when she saw that Anko was having a hard time carrying all her things. She asked,

"Let me help you, sensei." She said taking the stack of papers from her teacher's left hand.

"Oh, thanks." Anko said as she grabbed her bag that was slung on the backrest of the teacher's chair.

As they arrived at the door of the faculty room, Sakura handed back the stack of papers to Anko. She bowed down and left.

"_Nice kid. Hope she doesn't get mauled by the Uchiha brat's deranged fangirls."_ She thought as she entered the room.

As Sakura was heading to her locker to grab her PE uniform from her locker, she noticed it was deathly silent. She looked around and noticed not another single soul was around.

"_Damn, I'm late." _She thought as she sprinted down the hallway to her locker.

Her next class was PE, the last class of the day. It was her personal hellhole. It was not just because of the subject and what you were forced to do in it but also because of the teacher. She was sure Momochi Zabuza was a pro at torturing or he was just a sadist. She shuddered.

When she reached her locker, she opened it as fast as she could. She stuffed her books in then grabbed her PE uniform. She slammed the door of her locker shut then sprinted off to the gym.

When she turned left at the end of the corner, still dashing as fast as she could, she collided with a warm solid chest. She shut her eyes tight, expecting the cold hard floor to meet her rear end.

When she realized it was taking her too long to fall and she heard a throaty chuckle, she peeped through her eyes. Then she was drowning in a pool of mesmerizing orbs. She was too absorbed in staring at those pair of pitch-black eyes. Sakura was disrupted from her reverie when she heard a husky, masculine voice said,

"Done enough staring, Haruno?"

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_**A/N: So how was it?? Hope it was good enough to satisfy your SasuSaku craving... I apologize for the cliffie! Haha, besides you don't need to be a genius to figure out who that was, ne?**_

_**Anyways, please review!! Just click the button down there and tell me what you think!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Gym Sucks

_**A/N: Hello there! I apologize for the late update! Here's the second chapter, enjoy! **_

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**PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_When she turned left at the end of the corner, still dashing as fast as she could, she collided with a warm solid chest. She shut her eyes tight, expecting the cold hard floor to meet her rear end._

_When she realized it was taking her too long to fall and she heard a throaty chuckle, she peeped through her eyes. Then she was drowning in a pool of mesmerizing orbs. She was too absorbed in staring at those pair of pitch-black eyes. Sakura was disrupted from her reverie when she heard a husky, masculine voice said,_

_"Done enough staring, Haruno?"_

* * *

Then, she felt something. She felt warm arms supporting most of her weight. The arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. Surprisingly, she also had her arms wrapped around Sasuke's neck. She wondered how that happened. When this dawned on her, she also noticed the proximity of their faces. Their noses were almost touching. She felt Sasuke's breath fan her face, letting her breathe him.

At their almost nonexistent space away from each other, she was stunned for a bare minute. Their breaths were mingling with each other. Sasuke's breathing was normal while hers was close to panting. Sasuke was smirking at her while she was gaping like a fish.

She jolted upright and was out of a smirking Sasuke's arms in a second. When she felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment of being caught staring at him, specifically his eyes, she bowed down and said,

"T-thank you, Uchiha-san." She said politely, her bow hid her cheeks from the boy who saved her butt, literally.

She ran past him then continued sprinting off to the gym.

As Sasuke was about to continue down his own way, he noticed something on the floor. He smirked then picked it up.

"You really are clumsy, Haruno." He murmured to himself. He stuffed his hands into his pocket then followed the pink-haired girl's direction.

"_Crap, I'm really late. Oh well, time to face your own fear. Suck it up." _Sakura groaned mentally before opening the gym door. She was trying to be as quiet as she could. Hoping she was lucky enough to sneak in without being noticed. Apparently, it wasn't really her lucky day. One of the door's rusty hinges creaked. She stiffened. Then she heard the teacher thunder,

"You're late, Haruno! Any good reason why?" Momochi Zabuza glared at her.

She racked her brains for anything. All her Inner came up with was something she probably shouldn't mention to her teacher and the rest of the class:

"_You see sensei, we were late because we were too busy ogling at those compelling black eyes. More specifically, Sasuke Uchiha's onyx orbs." Inner said, nodding in satisfaction with hearts in her eyes._

She buried that thought at the back of her mind, not wanting to be mangled by Konoha's heartthrob's obsessive fangirls. Then she remembered what happened before her incident with a certain Uchiha.

"A…anou, sensei, I was -"

She was interrupted when the door opened once again, the hinges creaking loudly. It revealed Sasuke Uchiha. Most of the girls drooled. But the weirdest thing was he was looking at an emerald-eyed girl directly.

"Hey Sakura, you forgot your uniform." He spoke, holding out her forgotten PE uniform.

"_What the? How did he get that?" _She wondered.

Then, she realized she must've dropped when she bumped with him there on the hallways.

She was about to take her uniform from him when she heard loud whispers echoing throughout the room. The same words were heard but different voices asked these questions,

"What? When were they even close to being on the first-name basis?"

"Are they in a relationship?"

"I can't believe Sasuke-kun called that dweeb, Sakura, by her first name, in public no less."

"Yeah. I didn't even know that Sasuke-kun would notice that pink-haired geek."

She flinched at the cruel remarks directed at her. She ignored them then continued walking to Sasuke's direction. She took her uniform from him. But their fingers touched when she was on the process of gripping her uniform away from him. Sakura felt something close to electricity run through their touching fingers. She sensed a current from Sasuke's fingers to hers.

Their fingers touched for barely past half a second. But it felt like a whole minute passed for both of them. She immediately jerked her hand back, successfully taking her clothing. While Sasuke just stuffed his hand back into his pocket, he clenched his fingers as he felt faint traces of something like being electrocuted. It wasn't painful. It just felt weird.

She murmured,

"A-arigatou, Uchiha-san."

When the class finally recovered from the shock, as well as the teacher, they were back to their personal conversations, only some remained, the dreaded fangirls.

"Alright, why are you two late?" Zabuza asked, not able to muster enough ferocity in his voice since he was still in slight shock. He knew Sakura wasn't really one of the Uchiha brat's types.

Sakura answered immediately,

"I helped Anko-sensei carry her things back into the faculty room." She answered politely.

He didn't doubt the top student's honesty. So he pointed his questioning glower to the bored Uchiha,

"And what about you, Uchiha?" He raised a petulant eyebrow at him.

"Tch. Orochimaru-sensei called me." He answered snappily.

However, unlike the girl beside the brooding boy, he didn't exactly have a hundred percent trust on Konoha's heartbreaker. He made a mental note to ask the biology teacher, Orochimaru, if what Sasuke said was true.

"Change into your uniforms." He ordered then turned his back on them and started to make the other students' lives miserable. He ordered them to run ten freaking laps just for warm up.

Sakura walked to the girl's locker room, silently groaning. While Sasuke stayed behind, staring at her.

"_Guess I can't skip this boring class anymore like I planned to. Then I'll just have to amuse myself with Haruno." _He thought then also headed for the boy's locker room as well.

When he was finished changing into his PE uniform, he got out. The first thing he noticed was the girl coming out of the girl's locker room as well.

Sakura had her pink tresses in a messy bun on top of her head. Some of the rebel strands escaped the messy loop so they hung by the sides of her face, highlighting her heart-shaped pretty face. He shook his head to stop staring at the oblivious girl.

"_I hope we aren't going to play any sport today." _She frowned, shuddering at the thought of playing any sport. Apparently, she isn't as blessed as she is in IQ when it came to coordination. She was an awful klutz.

She was hoping that by the time she was finished changing her clothes, her other classmates would already be done with their ten laps. But since it really wasn't her day, her exhausted classmates were just halfway done.

She groaned. She started to jog as well. Sasuke followed behind her. She was too busy concentrating on placing one foot in font of another to avoid tripping and landing face-first on the gym floor to notice that someone was watching her intently from behind.

Sasuke had fixed your eyes on Sakura. He was trying to figure out why she was so different from the rest. Maybe it was just the fact that she isn't a fangirl? Or was it because she was too innocent to fall for his charms? Or maybe it was because of her outrageous pink hair? Her hair made her unique, only made her even more special to Sasuke's eyes. Despite of her hair being an attention-grabber, she was too humble to be considered an attention hog.

He shook his head, wanting to stop figuring that out. She was just special. Period. No need to find a specific reason. He focused on running beside Sakura. His eyes were fixed on the floor so he could stop himself from stealing a glance at the girl beside him.

When they were halfway, five laps, he heard someone panting softly beside him. Sakura was already panting when he wasn't even breaking a sweat. However, his biggest mistake was looking at the flustered girl beside him.

The first thing he thought was he was seeing a goddess or perhaps an angel. As Sakura was running beside him, more pink strands escaped the bun atop her head. Her pink tresses were swaying slightly because of her jogging movement.

The late afternoon rays of the sun passed through the gym's glass windows high above. These rays shone down on Sakura, resembling a spotlight, but not too catchy. It was just a faint light, making her glimmer. The thin sheen of sweat on her forehead was glistening because of the faint sunlight.

But what most caught his attention were her lips, though he swore he had no idea why. Her luscious pink pouty lips were slightly opened because she was panting. Her lips looked too attractive. Then a stray thought entered his mind that was already too full of all things Sakura: He wondered how her pink lips would taste like.

He clenched his fists together. Sasuke needed his self-control back, now. He always had a habit of being violent and destructive whenever he was annoyed or confused. He was wondering if he was sick. He never thought of anyone like this. Maybe he really was sick. There was no way Konoha's resident playboy would think about Konoha Student Council's president like this.

He shot forward in a burst, focusing all of his anger and frustration on his legs. While running feverishly, he was scolding himself for his earlier thoughts. While he was busy reprimanding himself, he was oblivious to the confused stare he's been getting from a pink-haired girl ever since he started running too fast.

Sakura was looking intently at the sprinting man in front of her, mulling over the events that happened this peculiar Friday.

"_Why is this day so different? No, it's not this day that's different. Today's morning seemed perfectly normal. Everything unusual started this afternoon, Drama Class. I would've had no qualms of being the female lead of the play if I wouldn't be paired with Uchiha-san. I knew his fans would strangle me. Sigh, sure he's good-looking, hot even. So I wouldn't be surprised if he had a huge number of admirers, but having too many obsessive and too-dedicated fangirls was not healthy, in my opinion."_

After going over her thoughts, she was finished with the tiring ten-lap warm up. She was panting slightly. She grabbed a towel and wiped her forehead with it, as well as her neck. Sakura gulped two glasses of water then went to sit by the bleachers.

When Sakura was seated for just about a minute, Zabuza blew on his whistle. The whole class sighed and groaned. They lined up in front of the freaky PE teacher. When they were all lined up, Zabuza spoke,

"Today we'll be doing badminton, badminton doubles to be exact. I'm pairing you up randomly, so no complaining."

The class was hyped up for a good badminton game while Sakura just groaned. She remembered clearly what happened the last time she was handed a badminton racket, and it wasn't a very pleasant memory.

She managed to sprain her wrist and hit her doomed partner on his shoulder in the same swing. She was shamed back then. Ever since that incident, many people dubbed her as the 'badminton klutz'. She didn't have the appropriate hand-eye coordination not just on badminton but on all the sports known on the face of the earth. She started preparing her apology to the person who would unfortunately be her partner.

While waiting for Zabuza-sensei to announce who her doomed partner would be, she had her fingers crossed, wishing her partner wouldn't be a grudge-holder or a vengeance-seeker. When she was on the fifth repeat of her I'm-sorry mantra, she heard her name,

"Haruno Sakura…"

She held her breath and clenched her crossed fingers.

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_**A/N: Please review! I need ideas! **_


	3. Chapter 3: Differences & Comparisons

_**A/N: Hey, guys !**_

_**Before you all start screaming profanities at me, I would like to let you all know why I wasn't able to update earlier:**_

_**Our internet connection had gone haywire for the past week and a half. -- that's a reasonable reason, right? **_

_**And just so you know, I'm not making this up. Its true! I wasn't exactly sure how I survived a week and a half without internet. Maybe that's why my brother kept telling me I'm crazy. Oh well, it's one of my best qualities anyway. :)**_

_**So now that it's all behind us, ENJOY !**_

_**PS: Because I feel really guilty that I haven't updated it sooner, I'm giving you guys a treat! :) **_

_**I'm going to update TWO chapters. Isn't that great?**_

_**Haha, before you get mad at me for my rambling, I'll just go now so you can read this chappie...**_

_**Oh, I forgot the disclaimer!**_

**Disclaimer: WatashiNoTenshi07 does not own Naruto.**

_**Okay, okay. I'm going... Bye !**_

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_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_"Today we'll be doing badminton, badminton doubles to be exact. I'm pairing you up randomly, so no complaining."_

_The class was hyped up for a good badminton game while Sakura just groaned. She remembered clearly what happened the last time she was handed a badminton racket, and it wasn't a very pleasant memory._

_She managed to sprain her wrist and hit her doomed partner on his shoulder in the same swing. She was shamed back then. Ever since that incident, many people dubbed her as the 'badminton klutz'. She didn't have the appropriate hand-eye coordination not just on badminton but on all the sports known on the face of the earth. She started preparing her apology to the person who would unfortunately be her partner._

_While waiting for Zabuza-sensei to announce who her doomed partner would be, she had her fingers crossed, wishing her partner wouldn't be a grudge-holder or a vengeance-seeker. When she was on the fifth repeat of her I'm-sorry mantra, she heard her name,_

_"Haruno Sakura…"_

_She held her breath and clenched her crossed fingers._

* * *

"And Uchiha Sasuke." Zabuza finished, pausing dramatically, allowing every person in the gym to digest that the rumored couple was paired up to be together once again.

When the gym still stayed silent for a solid minute, girls gaping like fishes and guys completely engrossed staring at the girl's horrified expressions; Zabuza continued to announcing the other student's partners, a bit amused as well when he saw the expressions of the Uchiha-brat's fans.

Sakura just froze on the spot, staring blankly at the polished gym floor beneath her, rendered motionless by the horror. Definitely a full-scale panic attack was on the way.

"_What?! I swear if killing wasn't a sin you'd be dead by now, Zabuza-sensei. I'm 99 percent sure you've been intending on doing this to me. Isn't it enough to be paired with him in Drama class? Ugh, now I'm going to look stupider and more idiotic to him now."_ She grumbled to herself.

When Sakura was done grumbling complaints to herself, Zabuza was done announcing as well. He barked out,

"Grab your own rackets and start practicing!" Then he blew on his whistle, causing few of the students that were quite near him to clutch their ringing ears. She wanted to beg and plead to have a different partner but every student knew, including her, that the demon coach wasn't a man that could be easily swayed.

Half of the students, the eager ones, started to scramble forward and grab two rackets, one for their respective partners and the other for themselves. Sakura moved forward slowly, obviously reluctant and a tad bit scared.

When she was still occupied in her own (disturbing) thoughts, a badminton racket materialized in front of her. She blinked once, twice. Then she realized a hand was holding it. She started to trace the hand, to the arm, to the shoulder, and finally, to the face. It was her partner. When she still continued to stare at him inanely, he raised a perfect black eyebrow. Then she grudgingly seized the thing from him.

She was holding the racket tightly, knuckles whitening. She willed the hand that was holding the racket not to shake, thus she held it too tightly than normal. And she was also holding it at an arm's length, like it would hurt her if it came any nearer. She trudged forward, still holding the 'cursed' racket.

Sasuke was intrigued once again with the pink-haired girl. When he held out the racket to her, he saw the raw terror and shock in her clear emerald eyes. He wondered why this girl would be afraid of a friggin' badminton racket. He also watched her reluctance at holding the thing and the way her hands held the thing tightly, too tightly.

Everything made sense when he saw the girl trudge forward still holding the thing at an arm's length. It was like she was holding a grenade with the pin already out.

Maybe she wasn't really good at badminton, most likely has a bad memory about it. When he assessed the girl a few feet away from him, he figured that she probably wasn't good at _any sport._ She was too fragile, too delicate to have a stamina that could endure a sport's activities, especially when he remembered that she too didn't have the precise hand-eye coordination.

He shrugged then followed Sakura to their specific court. Their opponents were Zaku and Kin. When they were positioned, he heard Sakura approach him,

"Um… U-Uchiha-san, I –" She wasn't able to finish talking/stuttering when Sasuke interrupted,

"I know. Just stand behind me." Smirk. Wink.

Sakura blinked then followed his orders. When she was already in her respective position, she pinched herself.

"_Ouch, that hurt. So I'm not dreaming. I just saw Sasuke Uchiha wink. AT ME. God, if you're kidding with me please stop it. If I wasn't sure that I wasn't his type I would've said that was flirting." _She shook her head to clear her too jumbled thoughts when the teacher whistled and the battle commenced.

Sasuke was the most graceful badminton player she had ever laid eyes on, eyes determined, movements precise and on-time, and most of all he was protecting her dignity – what was left of it, anyway. He was covering up her gaps of being unable to play and managing to clash with their opponents, singlehandedly.

Zaku and Kin knew who the weak point was – Sakura. But every time, Sasuke would be there to aid her. She would dodge then he would smash it back to them. Their unique teamwork was undoubtedly flawless, even if Sasuke did all the work while Sakura just avoided getting hit.

Sakura felt degraded every passing minute. She seemed so worthless, standing at the back awkwardly holding the _dangerous _weapon – the badminton racket – behind her. She just avoids Zaku and Kin's shots. She barely noticed she was playing _badminton not dodgeball_. She promised to herself that she would apologize to her Uchiha partner once this _act of public humiliation _was done.

When the heated battle between their two determined opponents and the ever-so-athletic Sasuke was done, the previously engrossed-in-the-game teacher blew on his whistle.

"Good game, Uchiha, Zaku and Kin." He praised them lightly. It seemed like he was ignoring the girl at the back and not even mentioning her, making the humiliated girl feel more out of place, like squeezing a huge lemon on Sakura's wounded ego and frail self-confidence.

The two teams shook hands then were off to rest. Sakura was barely thirsty. All she did was dodge and dodge and dodge.

She was glancing anxiously at Sasuke, waiting for the right time to approach him and apologize. Actually, she was just procrastinating the moment and trying to find the precise words to tell him. Still coming up with nothing, she sighed then trudged off to where he was sitting at and drinking water.

* * *

Sasuke was just uninterestedly staring at his shoes until a new pair of dainty-sized shoes was now just a few feet away from him. He looks up only to see something pink.

"Um… Uchiha-san?" She asks reluctantly.

He stares at her, wondering why she would be standing here in front of him. When she was still waiting for his reply,

"Hn?" He half grunted half asked a second late.

"I-I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a second. " She looks around, sensing the prying eyes of their other classmates – "In private." She added.

He stood up and led their way out of the gym by the back door, still trying to find a reason for a private conversation.

When they were successfully outside, he turned around and stared at the fidgeting girl with one black eyebrow raised. She inhaled a large gulp of air then spoke fast,

"I'm very sorry for unable to help you earlier, it's just that I'm not really good at playing badminton, in any sport actually. I tried to talk to coach but you know him. I know he wouldn't have listened. I really wanted to help but…" The girl continued to her apology speech while Sasuke just stared at her, not really listening to her.

The boy was certainly amused. This girl was apologizing for not being able to help him earlier. Most girls won't play badminton in fear of destroying their manicured nails, ruining their hair or having their make-up destroyed because of sweat. She really was different he concluded.

Unable to help himself, he did something _really_ unexpected.

Getting slightly annoyed at her long dialogue, he swooped down and placed a swift chaste kiss on her pink lips. When he was finished, he smirked then stared down at the girl.

"That certainly shut you up." He muttered.

The girl was evidently stunned at the Uchiha's sudden attack. Her eyes were wide, showing her emerald orbs, mouth slightly ajar. She touched the spot where their lips touched. Sasuke watched in amusement as her cheeks flushed ten shades of red.

He turned around, stuffed his hands back into his pocket then sauntered off to the gym, leaving a blushing pink-haired teen following him with her gaze.

While he was walking the few steps back inside the gym, he was mentally berating himself.

"_What am I doing?! She's the school's student council president for God's sake!"_

Despite knowing the thousands of reasons why he shouldn't be feeling like this about a certain pink haired girl, Sasuke couldn't deny the fact he managed to know something entirely pleasant about Sakura Haruno.

"_Her lips tasted divine."_

_

* * *

_Meanwhile at Sakura's perspective…

"Um… Uchiha-san?" I asked, hoping that I wouldn't stutter.

He was staring at me intently. I wondered if there was something on my face. Before I could worry about that too much he answered,

"Hn?"

Is that even a word? Ugh, I wished I knew someone who could translate the infamous grunt or at least brought an Uchiha dictionary or something. Ignoring that, I replied...

"I-I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a second. " Damn. And I thought I wouldn't stutter. I looked around discreetly when I sensed stares and glares behind me. "-in private." I added as an afterthought.

Sasuke stood up then headed to the back door of the gym. I followed behind him a few feet apart. As I was walking, I was searching my brain for an appropriate apology. I was worried that my _habit_ wouldn't occur in front him. I had the tendency of babbling or speaking too fast. I know it's weird but it just happens.

When we were outside, I stopped walking then he turned around to face me. I was agitated, still finding words inside my fried brain. He raised his oh-so perfect black eyebrow then continued to stare at me skeptically. Deciding there was no way to escape this; I breathed deep then started,

"I'm very sorry for unable to help you earlier, it's just that I'm not really good at playing badminton, in any sport actually. I tried to talk to coach but you know him. I know he wouldn't have listened. I really wanted to help but I knew I would just be a nuisance. I should've just told –" Oh my Kami. It's happening! Stop talking dammit! You're freaking him out!

I willed my mouth to stop speaking but it seemed to move on its own, not heeding my brain's order to stop. All I wanted to say was actually just two freaking short sentences: "I'm really sorry. I wanted to help but I'm not capable of playing badminton." But it seemed my brain wasn't working well today.

Sasuke was staring at me, it seemed like he wasn't really listening. I flinched inwardly. Maybe he was annoyed that some weird pink-haired nerd was babbling in front of him, the school's number one heartthrob. He seemed to be swallowed up in his own thoughts, not really interested to what the weird pink-haired nerd was babbling about.

What stopped my tirade of excuses and apologies was something I would never have even thought of. Sasuke leaned down and placed a swift kiss on my lips. I froze, my speech immediately forgotten. All that registered in my thoughts was that my first kiss was stolen by Sasuke Uchiha.

"That certainly shut you up." I heard him murmur silently.

Ignoring Sasuke's remark, I was still buried in my thoughts. I, as most of teenage girls would, have already imagined what my first kiss would be like.

As a child, I imagined that I would be saved by my prince from the evil dragon. The prince would kiss me to wake me up from my eternal sleep, much like The Sleeping Beauty. Then, we would live in a castle happily ever after. That was what I imagined when I was still a naïve child who believes in fairy tales.

But as I grew older, matured, I imagined that I would experience my first kiss with my first love at our first date. I would often imagine that we would be in a fancy restaurant talking to each other, knowing each other. Then he walks me home. When I am at my home's doorstep, he grabs my wrist and kisses me gently. That was how I thought it would be.

But what just happened was very, _very_ far from it. Here I was, outside the school's gym (not a very romantic setting), kissed by the school's campus crush. What surprised me was that I wasn't disappointed in the very least. Not at all upset that the hours spent imagining my first kiss were wasted.

When she was lucid enough, she noticed that she was caressing her lips and that her cheeks were really warm. She shook her head swiftly, chasing the thoughts away and she jerked her hand back to her side. She looked around and saw that she was now alone outside. Assuming he already headed inside, she followed after him.

* * *

The class was waiting impatiently for the raven-haired and pink-haired rumored couple to return back to the gym. All eyes turned to stare when the gym's back door opened, the hinges scraping the metal. There was Sasuke Uchiha, smirking with his hands once again stuffed in his pockets. Used to the stares, he strolled off to his previous seat on the bleachers.

The students, as well as the demon coach, were confused and irritated at the fact that the pink-haired girl was still outside. Their curiosity peaked, remembering the Uchiha's victorious smirk. Then, the door opened once again. A flushed Sakura entered the gym. The tense atmosphere was very thick you could practically slice through it with a knife.

Zabuza, having enough guts to break the pregnant pause, ordered,

"Change into your uniforms. Class is finished."

The students took another minute to stare at the two, and then trudged off to change. Sakura stayed behind, not wanting to be mauled by Sasuke's fangirls inside the girl's locker room. When she decided everyone would already be finished changing, she headed off as well.

As she exited the gym, she remembered that she would be buying her groceries for the week. So she once again sprinted off to her locker, not wanting to walk alone in the alleys after sunset. When she turned left at the far end of the hallway, she again bumped into a warm solid chest. The earlier events of the afternoon repeated. History seems to repeat itself in just a matter of hours.

But when she opened her eyes, she immediately knew something was completely different. She was staring at midnight orbs, but somehow it was duller, not smoldering. She blinked once and gazed at the person who owned those black eyes. It wasn't who she was expected, it was Sai. Now she knew why it was different. It wasn't Sasuke that was why.

"You should really watch where you're going, Ugly." He remarked, not really affected that she would call this girl with a very rude nickname.

Sakura instantaneously straightened out, escaping his grasp around her waist. Then laughed nervously, hoping her eyebrow would stop twitching whenever Sai would call her that. She was used to it anyway.

"Uh… Thanks, Sai." She said politely, hoping her kind attitude towards him would stop him from calling her vulgar names.

"Anytime, Haruno." He said then walked away.

Silently thanking that he didn't call her ugly this time, she stared at his retreating back. Wondering why he was so different compared to Sasuke. Sure, Sasuke is good-looking but Sai is good-looking as well. The two could pass as twins if it wasn't for their different hair styles and attitude. Sasuke was cold and considered by everyone as emotionless as an ice block while Sai can be friendly at times, and he smiles at least even if it is obviously fake.

She smiled slightly at the resemblance and difference of the two then headed off to her locker.

* * *

_**A/N: So how was it? Tell me your comments, possible suggestions or corrections! Click the button down there, and tell me what you think! :)**_


	4. Chapter 4: Possessive much?

_**A/N: Yo! Hey guys, I would like to ask you some questions that I hope you could answer. It would really help for this story. So, are you ready? Here we go...**_

_**First, since I don't study in Japan, I don't know how school goes in there. And the grade levels are different too. So, I would like to know what age would they be if they're middle schoolers. Anyone know? I would really really appreciate it.**_

_**Second, I'm not so sure what subjects they would have when they're middle schoolers so does anyone know any possible subjects Sakura and the gang may have? **_

_**I'll be waiting for your answers! :)**_

_**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Naruto.**_

* * *

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_"Uh… Thanks, Sai." She said politely, hoping her kind attitude towards him would stop him from calling her vulgar names._

_"Anytime, Haruno." He said then walked away._

_Silently thanking that he didn't call her ugly this time, she stared at his retreating back. Wondering why he was so different compared to Sasuke. Sure, Sasuke is good-looking but Sai is good-looking as well. The two could pass as twins if it wasn't for their different hair styles and attitude. Sasuke was cold and considered by everyone as emotionless as an ice block while Sai can be friendly at times, and he smiles at least even if it is obviously fake._

_She smiled slightly at the resemblance and difference of the two then headed off to her locker._

* * *

Sasuke was walking down the hallway when he saw something that made his blood boil. There was Sakura Haruno, the girl that occupied his every thought ever since this afternoon, in the arms of no other than the art freak, Sai.

He watched through narrowed eyes how Sai was holding the girl by her waist, tightly. Then he saw Sai's lips move, probably speaking to the girl. Then, Sakura was out of his arms while laughing her tinkling laugh. It made his knuckles clench the strap of his bag tightly. What could this weirdo be saying to make her laugh?

He couldn't see Sakura's facial expression or know if she was talking as well since her back was facing Sasuke and he was too far to hear their conversation clearly. Then he saw Sai speak before walking away. He didn't make out why he was so infuriated that instead of just continuing on her way, Sakura was still staring at Sai as he walks away. Then, when she turns left to head to her destination, he saw her lips were tilted upwards, indicating that she was smiling.

He growled silently to himself then marched off to Naruto's home, they had band practice today.

When Sakura headed out of the convenience store with one bag of groceries she just bought, she noticed it was already twilight, which means she would probably be heading home in the dark. She sighed then strolled off to her home. She wouldn't have bought groceries if she didn't need it yet but she was too tired of having instant ramen as her daily meal.

As she was walking down the alley, slightly unaware of her surroundings, two drunk men were following her. She was absentmindedly planning what she would be doing this evening, managing her time. When she heard pairs of footsteps, she glanced discreetly by her shoulder and saw two silhouettes of men behind her.

She wasn't sure what to do first. She was deciding which a more plausible explanation was: they were behind her because their house was also this way or they were just up to no good, and apparently she would be caught up in the mess they'll be making. Unable to make the verdict between the two options, she just did what any sane person would do: she gripped her belongings firmly then picked up her pace.

She was almost half-jogging by the way she was walking too fast. Sakura was about to sigh in relief for getting a good forty feet distance away from the raucous men when she saw another pair of boys up ahead of her, that immediately made her halt in her tracks.

Then it clicked into her brain: they weren't following her, they were ushering her. Leading her right where they wanted her to be. And she just took the bait stupidly. There were four of them; a brunette, an olive-haired, a navy blue-haired and a blonde.

That was when she decided that the latter of her choices earlier was the correct one. The two pairs of intoxicated men following her were still teenagers, just a few years older than her, she guessed. She heard the brown haired man's slurred speech behind her,

"Mission accomplished."

Then their boisterous laugh filled the dark alley. When their laughing fit subsided, the navy blue haired man whistled at her and said,

"Hey there, lady. Nice legs you got there."

She flinched then tried to cover herself from the pervert's gaze. Then the olive haired said,

"What's your name, pinky?"

Then some of them tried to muffle their laughter at her nickname. She refused to talk to these lowlifes. If she wasn't terrified of what would happen next right now, she would already have a snide remark ready to launch at them but she just bit her tongue.

When the blonde was annoyed at her lack of response, he took a few strands of her pink hair that was untucked from her ear. She stiffened, preparing to defend herself. When she felt him lean in, she pulled back and slapped his hand away from her.

"Get away from me."

She wanted her voice to sound bolder and braver, but it just came out in a silent whisper.

The blonde, once again annoyed at her rebuff, grabbed her wrist. That move made her drop the bag of groceries she was holding.

"Or what?" He challenged her.

She wanted to be able to threaten him but unfortunately, in this scenario, she was the damsel in distress and no one was around to save her. Unable to say anything other than an empty threat, she just kept her mouth shut.

"Cat got your tongue?" He asked rhetorically.

She winced when he tightened his grip on her pale wrist. He was making a move towards her bare legs. She immediately reacted on the instinct of self-preservation. Sakura felt the adrenaline rush through her veins, giving her momentary strength. She pulled her hand away from his grip then sent it flying towards the blonde's cheek.

The blonde staggered backwards as the force of the impact pushed him back. Sakura clutched her handbag in front of her as she saw the bright red hand mark imprinted on the perverted blonde's left cheek. She would've laughed at his expression if only she wasn't in a very dire predicament.

"Shit." The blonde cursed.

Then the blonde glared at her with fiery green eyes.

"Grab her." He ordered.

Then the other boys followed his order. She figured two things out at once: the blonde was this stupid group's leader and she just dug her own hole to die in. The blonde ringleader's expression told her that she was in heaps of trouble.

The olive haired man grabbed her from behind, grabbing her arms behind her to prevent her from escaping. She squirmed in his grasp. Then the blonde moved towards her. She thrashed about when the blonde tried to grab her chin.

"I said hold her down!" He said pissed off.

The brown-haired one assisted the olive-haired lad. The brown-haired creep held her by her shoulders to lessen her writhing movement. When Sakura's writhing was at minimum, the blonde successfully grabbed her chin.

"I said, what's your name?"

She still kept her mouth shut. Then the boy smirked wickedly,

"Fine. If you won't talk then I'll just get on with it."

She was panicking. Her breathing came in short huffs of breath, she was hyperventilating. Tears of panic started to water her eyes. She fought it back, not wanting to show more weakness than what she has just shown to these guys.

The blonde turned to look at the navy blue-haired guy, which was the only one not participating in the crime his friends would be doing to this poor pink-haired girl. The navy blue-haired guy raised his eyebrow in question. The blonde said – ordered, actually…

"Watch out for anyone who might be going this way. I don't wanna be interrupted."

The lad spoken to obeyed silently while Sakura shuddered in horror and disgust. Since Sakura was being held by the olive-hared guy with her hands behind her while the brown-haired held her by her shoulders, she was incapable of preventing him from opening her school uniform blouse's buttons, the top one first.

"No! Let go of me!" She was screaming in his face over and over but he paid no heed to her words.

When she felt the pervert's fingers unbuttoning her blouse, she was utterly revolted and mortified at the same time. She lashed out when the pervert was already unbuttoning the second button. She felt her second wave of adrenaline course through her veins. Summoning all the self-defense knowledge she learned from all the action movies he watched with her father, she kicked the blonde in the body part where the sun doesn't shine, his groin.

The boy bent over in pain. Sakura wanting to be free more than ever, broke free from the other two teen's grasp. She tilted her head forward and then thrust it backwards, hitting the olive-haired square on his nose. That made him let go of her arms behind her to tend to his now bloody nose.

Free from the first guy, only one left. She gripped her handbag, which had the thick hardbound book she was reading earlier at drama class, and slammed it straight to the brown-haired chap's surprised face. He let go of her and groaned in pain, holding his broken nose, much like the olive-haired guy.

She made a run for it, forgetting the bag of groceries she left behind. She dashed away as fast as her uncoordinated legs could take her. Not even glancing behind her to see if they were pursuing her, she continued running, hoping someone would be passing by to help her or at least scare off the guys from being caught and arrested for sexual harassment.

"Go after her!" She recognized the blonde's voice.

Then she heard a new pair of feet sprinting behind her. Alarmed, she tried to go faster. Unfortunately, the man running after her was too fast. She heard and felt him getting closer and closer to her with every step. Finally, before she could reach the far end of the dark alley, she felt something hit her back.

"Aah!!" Sakura yelped when the man pursuing her pounced on her.

She fell forward with the dead weight on her back, which she noticed was the man who was running after her. When she fell forward, her black rimmed eyeglasses fell off and stumbled a few feet farther away from her. Before she could protect herself from the fall, she felt the back of her head hit the concrete, hard. Then her vision started to become blurry.

She felt being rolled over to lie flat on her back on the cold hard concrete. Then, the edges of her vision started to darken, spreading over to the middle like spilled ink until she was engulfed in total darkness. The last thing she saw was the face of the infuriated blonde above her, bending down, and then she passed out.

* * *

_**A/N: I love Cliffies! Haha, kidding. :) The more reviews, the faster the update! - that would be my motto from now on. So you'll probably hear that plenty of times, starting now.**_

_**So, please please be sure to review! :) Ja ne! **_


	5. Chapter 5: The Knight & The Damsel

_**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back!**_

_***sigh* I'm kinda sad today. You know why? Okay, I'll tell you.**_

_**NOBODY ANSWERED MY QUESTIONS!**_

_**Not even a single kind-hearted person. **_

_**Oh well… I guess a person kind-hearted enough to answer a question is pretty rare these days.**_

_**Before I push you guys into a guilt-trip, here's the next chapter.**_

_**Oops, almost forgot the disclaimer.**_

_**Disclaimer: WatashiNoTenshi07 does not own NARUTO or any of its characters. If I did, Itachi-kins wouldn't be dead, Sasuke-kun wouldn't be a revenge-crazed Uchiha and Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan would be together. **__**:)**_

_**

* * *

**_

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_"Aah!" Sakura yelped when the man pursuing her pounced on her._

_She fell forward with the dead weight on her back, which she noticed was the man who was running after her. When she fell forward, her black rimmed eyeglasses fell off and stumbled a few feet farther away from her. Before she could protect herself from the fall, she felt the back of her head hit the concrete, hard. Then her vision started to become blurry._

_She felt being rolled over to lie flat on her back on the cold hard concrete. Then, the edges of her vision started to darken, spreading over to the middle like spilled ink until she was engulfed in total darkness. The last thing she saw was the face of the infuriated blonde above her, bending down, and then she passed out._

_

* * *

_Sasuke was just heading home after their band practice at the dobe's house. He was annoyed that Naruto forced him to eat ramen with him for dinner. He was going to puke if he ate any again. He was just languidly walking by the street when his keen sense of hearing heard a faint voice. He frowned in confusion then stopped walking to listen more attentively.

"No! Let go of me!" he heard imperceptibly.

He tensed up, slightly recognizing that soft female voice. Then he heard some shuffling and a man groaned, probably in pain. Before he could dash towards the spot where the voice came from, he heard light footsteps of someone running. He also heard a man bellow,

"Go after her!"

Stunned, he evaluated the predicament he was now in. Before he could come to the right decision, he heard a blood-curdling shriek,

"AAH!"

That was it, the last straw. It was definitely a voice he recognized. His feet acted by itself. Before he could fully comprehend it, he was already sprinting through the streets and reached the dark alley in mere seconds.

His fists closed tightly, the knuckles turning white. When he turned left at the far end of the road, where it was the darkest part of the avenue since the lamp post there was broken, the sight that awaited him made his blood turn cold in a second and boiling in anger the next. His jaw clenched and his eyes bulged then narrowed ominously at the scene before him: four men were surrounding an unconscious girl.

Two were tending to their bloodied noses, the other one was doing nothing except standing there, his eyes darting about. He figured he was the lookout. The last guy was crouched over the victim. That was when all his horrifying suspicions were confirmed. The girl was wearing a Konoha High School uniform and, what was worse of it all was, the girl had _PINK_ hair.

He thrust forward and headed to the nearest guy to him, the olive-haired one. He kneed the guy on his stomach then elbowed him on the back of his head when he bent over in pain. Then, he dodged a punch that was thrown his way by the brown-haired lad. The brown-haired loser was caught off balance by the force he put into the punch that wasn't able to make contact with Sasuke's jaw. Before he could retaliate with another hit, he was knocked out cold by Sasuke who put one hell of a punch straight to his face.

When Sasuke was done with the two, he glared menacingly at the remaining pair of lads a few meters away from him. Then he once again dashed forward and kicked the navy blue-haired guy on his back and sent him flying backwards when his fist connected with his jaw.

The three goons were unconscious after receiving Sasuke's hits. The last blonde one was still too busy _molesting _Sakura. He was crushing Sakura with his weight because the bastard was actually _sitting _on Sakura and was currently unbuttoning Sakura's school blouse. He growled in anger. That was when the pervert actually noticed his presence.

He stalked forward, his steps heavy but nonetheless swift. His anger was like fuel, urging him on to pound the asshole's face into smithereens. Before his unlucky opponent could stand up and form a defensive stance, he sent a power-packed punch dead straight into the bastard's face, smashing his nose in the process. The blonde stumbled back a few steps and hissed in pain as he tried to realign his now crooked and bloody nose.

While the idiot was too busy trying to mend his broken nose, he kicked the guy's stomach which sent him stumbling once again backwards before finally falling on his rear end. His kick was so powerful you could hear the snap of one of the poor blonde's ribs. Sasuke loomed over the whimpering blonde, his dark aura emanating strongly behind him.

You could just about hear the pipsqueak gulp in fear. He immediately recognized the person in front of him. He was Sasuke Uchiha. Mustering enough courage to preserve his shattered dignity, he looked straight into the eyes of the guy who made him his personal punching bag, only to regret the first second he did. He swore he saw the dark-haired man's eyes bleed to red in the shortest of split seconds. When he blinked, his eyes were back to its original color, onyx.

As Sasuke stared down the blonde's pitiful form, he remembered what the bastard just tried to do with Sakura. His blood boiled in fury. Then, he saw pure unadulterated terror flash through the blonde's eyes as he stared straight to his eyes and read his mad as hell expression. The blonde flinched when Sasuke raised his clenched fist. Ready to feel the force of the impact, he closed his eyes tight. And then it came, he received a well-aimed jab to his jaw courtesy of no other than Sasuke Uchiha. He was knocked out cold.

That was when he turned around to look at all this mess's victim, Sakura. She was lying flat on her back, her hair wildly flung around her like a pink halo. She was unconscious, her breathing seemed normal to him. That was when he noticed that the bastard had managed to open up to the third button of Sakura's blouse, her light pink bra peeking from the opening. Blood rushed to his cheeks, and nose, immediately. Wanting to protect the girl's modesty, he sheepishly buttoned her blouse.

Then, he bent down on one knee and scooped the frail girl in his arms, bridal style. When he stood up, he felt like she was too fragile, she was barely heavy, as light as a feather. He grabbed her things and walked off.

Sasuke wondered where he should take this girl in his arms. He wanted to take her to her home but unfortunately, he doesn't have the slightest idea in where she lived. With no other choice, he just ambled off to where his apartment was.

As he was walking, he took this precious time to look at the girl he just rescued. She looked so vulnerable, so breakable. He realized this girl _really_ needed protection. Though he was trying hard not to think of being this girl's protector, the thought of someone else protecting her made him really irritated – and jealous, not that he would even admit it to himself.

She was sleeping deeply in his arms, her pink blob of a head leaning on the crook of his neck. Her scent reminded him of strawberries. He felt her snuggle to him, her only source of warmth. Realizing she was feeling cold, he gripped her closer to him to make her more comfortable. Her satisfaction was released in a long breathy sigh. He felt a spine-chilling shiver run up his spine and the hair on the back of his neck rise since the girl just directly sighed on his _oh-so-sensitive _neck.

To avoid doing anything stupid since this girl was making him feel _too much_, his pace quickened. They reached Sasuke's apartment in no time at all because of Sasuke's long and hurried strides. He put Sakura's stuff down so he could reach into his pocket and retrieve his keys. He shifted the girl so he could free his other arm. It was not so hard since the girl barely weighed anything, in his opinion.

He shoved the key on to the keyhole, twisted the knob and pushed it open. He gathered Sakura's school bag and her bag of groceries before entering. He dropped her things on the couch and went off to his room. He gently placed the girl on his bed. Seeing she was still fully dressed, he mentally debated for a few minutes whether _he should change her clothes._ He rejected the idea since it would be too awkward – and he wouldn't be able to stop having an all-out nosebleed this time – and he figured she just had about enough of _men trying to take her clothes off. _So he just tucked her in his navy blue sheets.

"_She looks so much prettier without her glasses." _He thought absently.

He stroked the girl's smooth pale cheek before standing up and heading off to his living room. He grabbed a pillow on the way. Sasuke groaned at the idea of having to sleep in that lumpy couch. He grudgingly lied down, only to be annoyed by the fact that he couldn't fully settle since the couch was too short for his long legs. Grumbling incoherently under his breath, he dozed off to dreamland, a pink-haired girl occupying his thoughts even in sleep…

* * *

_**A/N: So, how was it? Tell me what you think! Hope you guys make up for it. I'm still pretty down because no one answered my questions. More reviews! Remember my motto: MORE REVIEWS, THE FASTER THE UPDATE! :)**_

_**-- **__**WatashiNoTenshi07 logging out. Ciao!**_


	6. Chapter 6: Waking Up In A Different Bed

**_A/N: Hi guys. Here's the next chapter. I actually have only two freakin' days left before school starts so please bear with me. I'm having difficulties right now. And seriously, MY LIFE SUCKS. T.T_**

**_Disclaimer: Depressed WatashiNoTenshi07 does not own Naruto._**

**_P.S. I forgot the disclaimer on the 2nd chapter. Sorry 'bout that._**

* * *

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_"She looks so much prettier without her glasses." He thought absently._

_He stroked the girl's smooth pale cheek before standing up and heading off to his living room. He grabbed a pillow on the way. Sasuke groaned at the idea of having to sleep in that lumpy couch. He grudgingly lied down, only to be annoyed by the fact that he couldn't fully settle since the couch was too short for his long legs. Grumbling incoherently under his breath, he dozed off to dreamland, a pink-haired girl occupying his thoughts even in sleep…_

* * *

Sunlight seeped through the blinds and hit the sleeping pink-haired girl's face. The brightness caused the girl to groan and mumble. Sakura grabbed a pillow near her and laid it on top of her head to block the invading rays of the sun. But she noticed something was off…

She sniffed at the pillow. It definitely wasn't a scent she recognized. It was a musky masculine scent, not her usual cherries and strawberries fruity scent. Confused, she sat up. She looked around her and saw that the bed she wasn't lying on wasn't hers. She was wrapped up in _navy blue sheets and_ her head was previously lying on a _black pillow._

Seriously, this was not her bed. She wasn't exactly fond of dark colors. But as Sakura looked around her warily, she truly was scared out of her wits. _This room wasn't hers either._

Then, everything came rushing back to her, the ghastly events of the previous night_. The drunken assholes, the perverted blonde, fighting off two pairs of men all by herself, being chased when she was able to break free, her head slamming on the concrete road of the dark alley, feeling consciousness slip through her fingers, and lastly, the face of the pissed off blonde crouching down towards her._

As these thoughts clouded her mind, she was still as a statue, and rigid as one too, her face a mask of pure horror and revulsion and, her eyes were like an open tomb, dull and lifeless. When she was finally broken out of her thoughts, she was shaking in fear. Maybe she was in the room of the blonde who abused her and may have done _something _to her body. She grabbed the navy colored sheets and jerked it away from her body.

She was almost bubbling with relief when she saw that her clothes – or school uniform, rather – are still intact and covered her body. But this small thing wasn't really very calming. So before she could scream for help or do anything else stupid, she heard a noise from outside the door.

Scared it might be her captive coming to get her, she jerked upright. She took silent steps toward the door and went out, thanking dear God that the hinges didn't creak or make any sound. She walked noiselessly down the path of the short hallway. Bracing herself, she fisted the material of her blouse, right where her heart was beating frantically. When she was right beside where the hallway ended, she heard a clanking of metal. Willing her knees not to buckle under her because of trepidation, she took a glance from where she was positioned.

But what she saw was unexpected. What she imagined was the blonde looking for a knife, probably a large meat cleaver, in his kitchen for him to use and butcher her with a murder intent clear in his green eyes, but what was in front of her was entirely different. The person standing on the kitchen had his back on her and was scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, as if he didn't know what to do.

Sakura gasped, truly shocked and utterly confused as to why the person in front of her had raven colored locks instead of those golden mane. Her intake of breath made the person in front of her whirl around to face her. That was when every thought process she had immediately shut down. She was so bewildered. The man had onyx eyes. Why the heck was Sasuke Uchiha in front of her?

"Haruno." Sasuke said in his deep sultry voice.

She blinked once, twice. It really was him. She was not hallucinating. Still unresponsive to the person trying to gauge her attention, Sasuke once again spoke,

"Sakura."

That definitely broke her out from her thoughts. She raised her head to look up at him. The teen had one of his black eyebrows curved upwards in a silent question. That was when Sasuke read the pure confusion in her sparkling emerald orbs.

"Don't worry. You're safe." '_With me._' Sasuke wanted to add but scattered that thought away with a slight shake of his head.

Those four simple words made every single detail fall into place. _He saved her. Sasuke Uchiha saved Sakura Haruno. _She was so relieved she couldn't even express her gratefulness into words. She felt tears of joy prickle her eyes. If she wasn't too caught up in her thoughts, she could've squealed at the thought that she was just saved by Sasuke Uchiha, just like how the damsel in distress was saved by her knight in shining armor. And to think, she just slept oh so soundly on _the _Sasuke Uchiha's bed. Her inner melted into a puddle of gooey mush.

Sasuke was too busy staring at Sakura's face, reading every emotion that coursed through her. She was like an open book. You could read every thought and emotion just by looking straight at her and her glimmering viridian eyes. The quote: _a person's eyes are the doors to their soul_ immediately registered into his mind and he realized this saying was so true when applied to Sakura.

He read every emotion that passed through her clear eyes; confusion, comprehension, relief and finally, happiness. But what the girl did next was unforeseen so he was caught off guard yet again by the pink haired girl. She _pounced_ at him out of the blue. Her arms immediately encircled around his neck, leaning her whole body weight to him. He stumbled back a bit but regained his balance when he gripped her waist. He glanced down to look at the girl. She had her head bowed low and resting on his chest. When he glanced down, he once again unintentionally breathed in her addicting fruity scent. He straight away jerked his head upwards to avoid having a sniff of her intoxicating fragrance.

Then, he felt something wet soak his black shirt and felt the girl in his arms tremble slightly. She was crying. Alarmed, he rested one of his hands on the small of her back to support her and used his other free hand to grip her chin and tilt it upwards. She was crying, indeed. But he was puzzled, why would she be crying when he saved her from those bastards last night? Then, he supposed she was hurt or injured. Or – worst-case scenario – the four bastards last night already did something horrible to her before he had arrived. Out of sheer instinct of protecting her, he instantly grabbed her shoulders to wrench her slightly away and inspect her body for any injury.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, worry thick in his voice.

Sakura looked up while wiping her tear streaked face with the back of her hand and answered,

"Huh? I-I'm… alright, Uchiha-san." She was obviously confused at Sasuke's question.

"Then why are you crying?" He asked, a bit baffled that she was crying when she wasn't injured at all.

"I… I felt so relieved. They were… They were going to –"Her voice cracked up at the end she burst into a crying spree, fisting her small hands into the Uchiha's shirt and bawling her eyes out. The boy's shirt was soaked in no time. Feeling rather awkward, he just wrapped his arms tightly around her shaking frame, offering as much comfort as he could. He just figured this defenseless girl was scared out of her wits by the thought of getting _raped _by those filthy assholes, so he just let her sob her heart out.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, Sasuke's arms wound around Sakura's slender waist and Sakura sniffling silently with her head buried in his chest. When Sakura's fit ended, the girl looked up with red-rimmed eyes and tear-strained face. Sasuke looked down at her, feeling quite uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Thank you." She said so fervently that he blinked once in surprise.

Unaware of the position they're still in, he continued to hold his gaze with his own. Then she felt the girl squirm lightly in his arms.

"Umm…" She mumbled self-consciously, looking up at him with wide emerald orbs. Now conscious of her discomfiture, he released her and looked away, hiding the barely visible tinge of pink in his cheeks.

Sakura looked beyond Sasuke's left shoulder and saw a pack of bacons and ham with a tray of eggs at the countertop. Remembering that Sasuke was quite unsure of what he was doing when she spotted him earlier, she looked up at him, with a bright, cheerful smile, and said,

"I'll cook breakfast… as proof of my gratitude."

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly.

As she was preparing the ingredients and Sasuke was busy watching her as she darted about in his kitchen, Sakura asked him suddenly,

"Is there anything you would like?"

"Tomatoes." He answered automatically.

Sakura frowned in confusion before shrugging then continued on with her work.

Sasuke was actually looking at Sakura's state of dress. She was still wearing her uniform. Then an idea struck him. So, he excused himself to take a quick shower,

"I'll just shower for a bit."

Then he fled from the kitchen, leaving Sakura to prepare their meal.

Sasuke took a quick shower. When he got out, he was wearing a plain navy blue shirt and black sweatpants. While hastily rubbing his raven locks to dry them, he remembered Sakura. He went to his closet and dug for the smallest shirt he could find. All he managed to scavenge was his old gray cotton shirt. He kept it for so long since it was one of his favorites. Looking at it indecisively, he finally decided it was long enough to reach up until above Sakura's knees so he didn't need to hunt for sweatpants, not that it would fit Sakura anyway.

Heading off to the kitchen, a mouthwatering scent assaulted his nostrils. When he turned around the corner, he saw Sakura placing a plate of well-cooked bacons right beside a plate of yummy-looking omelets with tomatoes. He didn't notice he was standing quite stupidly with his mouth slightly open.

Sakura, finally noticing his overwhelming presence behind her, glanced up. Seeing his expression, she misunderstood that she did something wrong.

"Uh… Did you like your eggs sunny side-up, Uchiha-san?" She asked uncertainly.

Sasuke, woken up from his stupor, replied immediately,

"No, not at all."

Walking up to her, he handed her the gray shirt he was holding. Sakura looked up to him, wondering why. He sighed then replied,

"Just… change your clothes."

Enlightenment dawning upon Sakura's face, she got a hold of the shirt from Sasuke's hands and said,

"Thanks."

Sakura disappearing off to the bathroom to change, he felt his stomach rumble. He looked down appreciatively to what Sakura made. Making himself useful, he prepared the table. When he was pouring orange juice on Sakura's glass, he heard light footsteps heading towards the kitchen. Sasuke looked up just in time to see Sakura enter the kitchen with a shy but graceful walk.

Sakura was wearing Sasuke's gray shirt. It swallowed her small frame completely. It was almost like a dress to her. The shirt was too big for her slim shoulders, making the sleeves reach up to her elbows while the hem of the shirt reached just a few inches above Sakura's knee, just like how Sasuke guessed.

Feeling Sasuke's scorching gaze on her, she looked up. Sasuke was staring at her as if he was in a daze. A few seconds later, he was still staring. _Staring was rude, right? _Sakura asked herself. Feeling rather awkward and self-conscious she fidgeted with the hem of the shirt and asked,

"Err… Is something wrong, Uchiha-san?"

Sasuke was captivated by the sight of Sakura wearing his favorite gray shirt. Not quite conscious of the way he's been staring at her longer than necessary, he was snapped out from his trance when he heard Sakura's soprano voice. Feeling heat creep up his cheeks for being caught staring, he averted his gaze downwards and shook his head.

Sakura, oblivious to the boy's flustered cheeks, sniffed something that smelled like its burning. Alarmed, she immediately rushed to the stove.

"Oh, the ham!"

Scampering off to the stove, she twisted the knob to turn it off and flipped the ham on is other side to reveal the slightly burned side. Shaking her head in disappointment, she continued to flip the hams.

Leaving the kitchen, he was annoyed by the fact that his thoughts were clouded, more annoyed by the fact that his thoughts were always about a certain pink haired girl wearing _his_ favorite shirt and cooking in _his_ kitchen. He _really _needed a splash of cold water on his hot face to wash away the _very _annoying thoughts. Grasping the faucet and twisting it with unnecessary force, he cupped his hands to catch the streaming water and splashed it on his face.

Gripping the edges of the ceramic sink tightly, he stared at his reflection on the mirror. His face was dripping with water, some of his raven bangs soaked. But he intently watched as the color of his cheek turn back to its normal pallor.

* * *

**_A/N: Please leave me some awesome comments to lift my spirits up. *sigh* Just click the pretty little button down there.. Thanks._**


	7. Chapter 7: Sneak, Peek & Click

_**A/N: Here's the seventh chapter. I can't believe I already got this far. Anyways, I posted this up already since school's coming up.**_

_**Promotion: If you guys liked my writing you could read my other story: The Devil's Angel. Thanks! :)  
**_

_**Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto or any of its characters.  
**_

* * *

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_Sasuke was captivated by the sight of Sakura wearing his favorite gray shirt. Not quite conscious of the way he's been staring at her longer than necessary, he was snapped out from his trance when he heard Sakura's soprano voice. Feeling heat creep up his cheeks for being caught staring, he averted his gaze downwards and shook his head._

_Sakura, oblivious to the boy's flustered cheeks, sniffed something that smelled like its burning. Alarmed, she immediately rushed to the stove._

_"Oh, the ham!"_

_Scampering off to the stove, she twisted the knob to turn it off and flipped the ham on is other side to reveal the slightly burned side. Shaking her head in disappointment, she continued to flip the hams._

_Leaving the kitchen, he was annoyed by the fact that his thoughts were clouded, more annoyed by the fact that his thoughts were always about a certain pink haired girl wearing his favorite shirt and cooking in his kitchen. He really needed a splash of cold water on his hot face to wash away the very annoying thoughts. Grasping the faucet and twisting it with unnecessary force, he cupped his hands to catch the streaming water and splashed it on his face._

_Gripping the edges of the ceramic sink tightly, he stared at his reflection on the mirror. His face was dripping with water, some of his raven bangs soaked. But he intently watched as the color of his cheek turn back to its normal pallor._

_

* * *

_Meanwhile…

A blue-eyed blonde was strolling casually with his hands folded on the back of his head, the epitome of pure ease. He was currently heading to his bestfriend's flat to invite him into a friendly game of basketball with the gang. _I would definitely beat him this time, believe it! _He thought determinedly.

With a goofy and mischievous smile on his whiskered face, he wondered whether the _teme _was still sleeping. Chuckling to himself, he was looking forward to have a picture of the raven-haired lad snugly sleeping and then sending the photos to the boy's rabid fangirls. Then, his obsessive fans would hunt him to no end as he watched him suffer while laughing evilly. Now, wasn't that pleasant?

When he reached Sasuke's garage, he sneaked silently off to the front door. Wanting to take a photo of the infamous Sasuke Uchiha asleep and off to dreamland, he took out his mobile phone and prepared to take the picture of the century. Silently praying to the lord of ramen, he prayed that the door was unlocked. As he clutched the doorknob and twisted it slowly, it was fortunately unlocked. Slipping through the door quietly, he closed the door with a soft _click_. Then, he tiptoed off through the hallway, heading to Sasuke's room. But suddenly, he _heard _and _smelled _something quite out of the ordinary.

He walked noiselessly through the hallway and peeked. What he saw was something he thought he would never see inside his friend's apartment in his whole life. There, in _Sasuke's_ kitchen was a _girl _with unusual pink hair wearing_ Sasuke's_ favorite gray shirt that he recognized. Her messy hair was like a haystack, he could've mistaken it for one if only it wasn't pink. He estimated that she was just about their age or probably younger because of her small form. She was softly humming to herself as she cooked what was probably her and Sasuke's breakfast. _WTFH? _

When the image in front of him finally registered into his astounded mind, he fisted his hand, only to remember he was holding his cell phone. Glancing up, he was sure he won't be caught unless he made a sound since the girl's back faced him. He focused the camera onto the view in front of him and clicked the button, capturing the exact replica of the scene in front of him.

A second after taking the picture, he heard footsteps, assuming they were most probably Sasuke's footsteps headed to the kitchen. Valuing his life, he quickly tiptoed to the living room and slipped soundlessly out of the front door in mere seconds. Sighing as he sprinted out of the street alive, he chuckled at his apparent success. Grinning goofily, he headed off to where the gang had been waiting for him and Sasuke.

* * *

Meanwhile at the gym…

"Where is Naruto?" Kiba complained out loud since they've been waiting for the dobe for quite a while now. He slumped down onto the bleacher, on the other side of a sulking Shino. Someone yawned beside him, it was Shikamaru.

"He said he was off to Sasuke's house to invite him. Troublesome…" Shikamaru mumbled the last part.

A few seconds of silence passed. Then suddenly Lee walked up to the meditating Neji and shrieked,

"I challenge you to a youthful battle, Neji-san!" Then the green spandex clad _youth _did his nice guy pose, with the thumbs up and the maddening _ping_ of his pearly white teeth.

Neji, used to Lee's invitations about _youthful _battles, just scoffed and continued meditating.

Then, a few more complaints later (mostly from Kiba), they heard _loud_ footsteps pounding on the gym's hardwood floor echoing _loudly _throughout the gym, courtesy of a _loud _blonde. They looked up to see a blur of orange sprinting to their location. When the blur finally stopped in front of them, they saw a beaming Naruto.

"What took you so long, dumbass?" Kiba retorted.

Instead of Naruto screaming back to start their daily squabbling, he just simply stood there with a pleased grin on his whiskered face. Obviously noting the difference,

"What are you up to now, Naruto? And where's Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked.

Still smiling goofily to himself, he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and said,

"You guys wanna know what the teme's up to?" He asked with a very scandalizing tone that sparked everyone's curiosity.

Fervently curious, even the meditating Neji and the quietly sulking Shino, everybody straightened up. Naruto, pleased with their reaction, smirked. After a few seconds of thick tension (in which Naruto refused to be the one to break the pregnant silence), Kiba snapped,

"Just spit it out!" He yelled.

"Okay, okay." He held his palms up in mock surrender. Everyone was staring at him expectantly. Finally Naruto spoke,

"You guys know that I was supposed to fetch Teme, right?" After a few nods, he continued,

"Well, let's just say everything didn't go according to plan. Because of this –"He held out his phone that showed the appalling picture he took earlier at Sasuke's house. The guys' reactions were priceless.

Kiba's jaw dropped, almost touching the ground. Lee's eyes were wide, with his caterpillar eyebrows raised in shock. Shino was frozen on the spot, with his left eyebrow twitching occasionally. Shikamaru was gaping like a fish out of water and a vein visibly popped on his forehead. Naruto was sure Neji's eyes widened as saucers but the stoic male managed to rearrange his composure before Naruto was sure of what he'd seen.

A couple of seconds passed in meaningful silence as the astounded guys regained their composure.

Neji, being the first one to recover from the shock, asked Naruto,

"Where did you get that?"

Naruto sat down and replied,

"Okay, I'll tell you the whole story." He said enthusiastically, willing to share his adventure that more or less ended in success.

"Here's the thing, I was walking to the Teme's house. I suddenly thought that I should get a picture of the Teme while he's sleeping so I could send it to his fangirls –" Everyone shivered at the thought of those rabid fangirls, " and watch him suffer as he was chased by his obsessive fangirls. Then, I sneaked into the teme's house. While I was walking down the corridor…" He paused deliberately, killing them with the suspense and watching as his friends' scowls grew darker and deeper as seconds ticked by. After a few seconds, Naruto continued,

"As I was saying, I was walking down the hallway when BAM! " – Lee jumped at Naruto's loud screech – " I saw this chick with pink hair. And she was cooking at Teme's kitchen and you know what? The girl was wearing Teme's favorite shirt!" At this their expressions changed abruptly, morbid curiosity morphing into speechless shock. When suddenly Kiba shot up from where he was perched on and exclaimed,

"Lemme see!" And he pounced on Naruto, successfully snatching the silver phone away from its owner. When he raised the mobile phone to see the picture closely, his jaw dropped – _again_ – and he muttered quietly,

"Well, damn. She looks like she had a rough night."

Looking at the picture, he remarked about Sakura's unkempt pink hair. In the picture, a petite girl was familiarly cooking in a kitchen –apparently Sasuke's – and she was wearing what he recognized as Sasuke's favorite gray shirt. The shirt was of course too large for her, the hem of the shirt reached her mid thigh and the shoulders were too wide, thus making the shirt slide sideways, revealing her bare shoulder. Her hair was a mess which accounted for the rough-night comment from Kiba. And in fact, Kiba was right, in another way of course. Of course the girl had a rough night! She was almost raped, for god's sake.

Intrigued by the dog boy's statement, the others sat up too, wanting to see a closer look at the scandalous picture. When everyone got their time to look closely at the picture, Naruto asked,

"Hey guys, do you know who that girl is?"

After a few seconds of silence, Neji answered,

"If I'm not mistaken, she's Haruno Sakura." He answered coolly.

"Who's that?" Kiba asked.

Then, Shikamaru sighed and answered, "Maybe she is Sakura Haruno. She's the only girl I know in town with pink hair."

Then Shino said,

"She's the school's student council president, right?"

"She is?" Kiba yelled.

At this Naruto and the others were appalled – except Shino, Neji and Shikamaru who already assumed who that girl in the picture is.

"Seriously? Teme, the infamous playboy, is going out with Haruno Sakura, the student council president?" He was shocked by the obvious irony in it.

"This isn't going to end well." Lee sighed.

"Now what?" Kiba asked after a few shocked remarks and exasperated sighs.

Then a light bulb flicked on just above Naruto's blonde head and he exclaimed excitedly,

"I have an idea!"

At this Neji scoffed and Shino sighed, knowing the blue-eyed idiot was up to no good once again.

Ignoring the negative reactions he received, he continued,

"Hey Shikamaru, you think you can put this picture in the school paper?" He asked mischievously.

As everybody averted their expectant gaze to the sleepy genius, Shikamaru muttered,

"Fine… What a drag." Then he yawned.

* * *

As a certain pink head was walking leisurely along the corridors of Konoha High, she suddenly gets a feeling that she was being watched, she turned around to look behind her. She saw a couple of girls glaring daggers at her while others were gawking at her as if she had grown another head. Not used to so much attention, she cast her gaze down and continued shuffling off to her locker to gather her things.

Wondering about the reason of the unwanted attention she was currently experiencing, she thought what could possibly be different about her today compared to the other days. The only thing she came up with was that she had new glasses today since she lost her previous one during _the incident_. But it was unlikely that everybody would stare at her because she had new glasses.

Still thinking hard about the possible reasons, she was suddenly broken out of her trance when she heard a girl with black hair and amethyst eyes whisper to her friend quite loudly (maybe intending to let her hear),

"Isn't that Haruno Sakura?" Then she saw the brunette's friend look down at the paper she's holding and then whisper back,

"Yeah, that's her. I can't believe she would do something like that…" The voice drifted away as she continued to walk to her destination.

Frowning, she wondered what they were talking about. She jerked her locker's door open and something fell down. She bent down to pick it up. As she held it closer, she recognized that it was Konoha High's school paper. But suddenly she saw a glimpse of pink printed clearly on the school paper. Then her jaw went slack and a shiver went up her spine, as well as a warm blush graced her cheeks.

There in the school paper's front page – its enormous size occupying the whole front page – was a slim girl, her back facing the photo (making it impossible to see her face) wearing _only _a loose gray shirt, with her left shoulder bared because the shoulders of the shirt were too wide for her petite shoulders. The hem of the shirt reached a few inches above her knee. She was presumably cooking what looked like a kitchen in the background and her hair was an epic mess of _pink tresses_.

All in all, it wasn't so hard to figure out who was the girl in the scandalous photo since there was only one girl in Konoha who had pink hair. And unfortunately, it was her, Sakura Haruno.

_God, why does this always happen to me?_

Her mind raced through the possible reasons someone could've taken the picture. Though she didn't want to admit it, there was only one possibility. It was her _so-called savior_, Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

**_A/N: Reviews, please? Your reviews could motivate me to write more. :)_**


	8. Chapter 8: Scandalous Photo Fiasco

_**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back. Though you might think I was already dead and six feet underground because of the late update, I'm not. It's something even worse than getting buried alive, SCHOOL. SCHOOL IS BACK, that's why MY LIFE SUCKS. **_

_**Has anyone of you guys read Vampire Kisses? I definitely adore Alexander Sterling! ~sigh~ Haha, I was reading the book during class and unfortunately my English teacher caught me. Haha, it was hilarious. Good thing she wasn't as unforgiving as my bitchy math teacher. XP  
**_

_**Anyways, here's the next chapter. Hope you don't hate Naruto because of this chapter.**_ **_:)_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. - I'm getting tired of typing the disclaimer. -_-  
_**

_

* * *

PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_There in the school paper's front page – its enormous size occupying the whole front page – was a slim girl, her back facing the photo (making it impossible to see her face) wearing only a loose gray shirt, with her left shoulder bared because the shoulders of the shirt were too wide for her petite shoulders. The hem of the shirt reached a few inches above her knee. She was presumably cooking what looked like a kitchen in the background and her hair was an epic mess of pink tresses._

_All in all, it wasn't so hard to figure out who was the girl in the scandalous photo since there was only one girl in Konoha who had pink hair. And unfortunately, it was her, Sakura Haruno._

_God, why does this always happen to me?_

_Her mind raced through the possible reasons someone could've taken the picture. Though she didn't want to admit it, there was only one possibility. It was her so-called savior, Sasuke Uchiha._

* * *

Strolling casually, with his hands stuffed in his trousers pockets, by the corridors of Konoha High early and bright this Monday, he was greeted by squeals and screeches of _"Kyaa~ it's Sasuke-sama!"_

He scoffed then walked off, ignoring the throng of girls that crowded the area as soon as his name was heard. His _cool and arrogant _attitude obtained a few more squeals since this manner of his caused most of his fangirls to admire him, in the first place.

As he walked on, he noted that he was being stared at. Not just the mundane '_ogle at his handsome face' _stares but something different. He finally placed it as the '_gawk at him as if he did something' _stare. Used to the amount of attention he was getting, despite the difference in the way he was being eyed, he just continued to trudge on to his locker.

Then, it wasn't just the stares he was noticing. There were also not-so-quiet murmurs and whispers that made him wonder all the more what this was all about. Most of the time, he would just tune out the day by day prattles and chatters around him, but this time, he listened. And what he heard was something that didn't make any sense at first since what he was hearing were just choppy bits and pieces of the gossip circulating around him.

"Ne, ne, that's him, right? I heard… seen by – maki-san… Saturday." A chocolate brown haired freshman subtly pointed at his general direction.

Listening more intently, he continued with his eavesdropping,

"Yeah. There was an article in the school paper. You should've seen it." His friend, a bronze haired lad said with awe and disbelief over what he must have seen.

Then, he saw out of the corner of his eye that an amethyst haired girl was tugging at the sleeve of his friend, pointing at something in her hand; she was pointing at the screen of her mobile phone, he noticed. When her friend looked over at what she was pointing at, he was positive he saw the girl's eyes widen. Then suddenly both girls were sniffling and blubbering with tears.

Puzzled at both of the girls' sudden outbursts, he frowned. Slightly craning his neck to see what the amethyst haired girl was holding, he recognized it as the school paper. He sighed at the thought of someone spreading a false rumor _again_.

As he neared the hallway where the lockers were located, he saw a flash of pink among the crowd. As he neared Sakura, he noticed she was pale as a sheet and she was rigid as a stone. When he was only a few feet away, Sakura's pink head snapped up. As recognition flashed across her clear emerald orbs, he saw a flicker of hurt and betrayal before shifting into intense resentment and anger.

Stupefied at the fury evident in her scorching green eyes, he stopped dead in his tracks. Just before he could utter a single word to ask what was wrong, she whipped around and slammed her locker's door shut with a loud _bang_ and stomped off to the other direction.

As he stared at her retreating figure, he was shocked, to say in the least. He was almost sure she would greet him a good morning as polite and joyful as always. But no! He was literally given the cold shoulder treatment. His thoughts were jumbled through his fried brain as he remembered the withering glance she gave him. Shaking his head slightly to recover from the shock, he walked the few steps to his own locker. As he walked quite slowly, he was thinking about a certain pink-haired girl's cold attitude towards him. Who knew someone so soft-spoken and cheerful had such explosive temper.

Mulling over the events that transpired between them, Sasuke found nothing that could've possibly made her this irked at him. He opened his locker and something fell out. He glanced down and recognized it as the school paper. The heartthrob bent down to pick the item up. He stood up straight. At first, his first thought was to dump it immediately in the nearest trash bin. But remembering all the gawking and indiscreet whisperings, he decided to take a look. As he flipped it over to see the front page, his eyes widened.

There on Konoha High's School Paper's front page was a photo that he just saw a few days ago, a girl with pink mussed-up hair wearing an oversized gray cotton shirt and cooking cheerfully in a background that he recognized as his own kitchen. But it wasn't the photo he had seen; it was the actual thing just a few days ago in his own house. The rumor going around wasn't false after all; just _a little _misinterpreted, okay, _a_ _lot_.

Then as this information was fully processed in his clouded mind, a strong surge of intuition flashed through him. So this was the reason behind Sakura's cold attitude and colder glare. Well, _crap_. Of course, who else would Sakura suspect of doing such a thing? The only possible conclusion of who the culprit was could only be him. But he could swear on the grave of his ancestors that he wouldn't do such a thing. But telling that to an infuriated and fuming Sakura would do no good at all, he was sure of it. He needed evidence, solid and accurate proof.

He glanced down at the front page of the school paper, now noticing how huge the photo was, practically swallowing up the whole front page. Then, down at the bottom of the picture was the piece of information he was looking for: the source of the picture. There down at the lower right portion of the humongous picture was,

"_Photo Contributor: RamenKing10"_

There was also a small description just below the picture:

"_This photograph was taken by __RamenKing10__ last Saturday morning. Included in his sworn statement was: this picture was taken at __Uchiha Sasuke's apartment__."_

Hmm… Seems the dobe is really getting it this time. Seriously, how stupid can he get? The whole school knew about his addiction with those noodles, since the whole campus sees him inhaling bowl after bowl of ramen every stinking day at lunch time. And it wasn't hard to figure out what the number _10_ means, it was the day of his birth, after all.

Thinking of the top one hundred ways he can torture then kill the blonde, the details suddenly fell into place. If Naruto has shown the picture to Shikamaru, who was a member of the staff of the school paper, the lazy bum had included this scandalous picture into the school paper, in the front page, no less. But it wasn't such a surprise, really, even if the pineapple-headed guy was lazy, he still was a well-renowned genius, so he probably had a high authority when it comes to the school paper's publication.

Then, with a burst of perception, he finally realized who could've spread the picture through their cell phones. It was most probably Neji, he figured, since he still probably nursed his wounded ego when he beat him at chess last week. He remembered hearing him mutter something about _revenge _and _vendetta _when he buried him at their supposed-to-be friendly game and flashed him a full-blown smirk. With Neji's connections, he wouldn't be surprised that the photo was spread around the whole campus just within a single hour.

But one single thing still hadn't made any sense, who could've taken the picture? The school paper clearly stated that, despite the obvious codename, Naruto was the culprit. But how could have the stupid blonde gotten around to take the damned picture? Only one way to find out…

* * *

**_A/N: Soooo_**_**... What do you guys think? Don't hesitate on asking me questions, I'll answer them, Promise ! XD And I would appreciate some suggestions too! :)**_

_**Okay, this would be my last update for this week, probably. So, see ya guys next week ! Wish me luck on my second week of classes!  
**_

_**WatashiNoTenshi07 out! Buh-bye! :)  
**_


	9. Chapter 9: Figure Out The Sasuke Puzzle

**_A/N: Ugh, I wanna die! Okay, forget that part. It must've spoiled your mood. Sorry 'bout that. _**

**_Hmm.. I guess Sakura-chan's feelings are in sync with mine. I feel like shit right now. School sucks, my classmates are bitches and assholes, my teachers are burying me alive with homeworks, my best friend is mad at me for some godforsaken reason that I don't particularly know, and I get migraines every friggin' day! Yeah, life's all good. _**

**_Anyways, since I'm pretty sure you skipped the part about my rant, here's the next chappie._**..

* * *

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP: _

_Thinking of the top one hundred ways he can torture then kill the blonde, the details suddenly fell into place. If Naruto has shown the picture to Shikamaru, who was a member of the staff of the school paper, the lazy bum had included this scandalous picture into the school paper, in the front page, no less. But it wasn't such a surprise, really, even if the pineapple-headed guy was lazy, he still was a well-renowned genius, so he probably had a high authority when it comes to the school paper's publication._

_Then, with a burst of perception, he finally realized who could've spread the picture through their cell phones. It was most probably Neji, he figured, since he still probably nursed his wounded ego when he beat him at chess last week. He remembered hearing him mutter something about revenge and vendetta when he buried him at their supposed-to-be friendly game and flashed him a full-blown smirk. With Neji's connections, he wouldn't be surprised that the photo was spread around the whole campus just within a single hour._

_But one single thing still hadn't made any sense, who could've taken the picture? The school paper clearly stated that, despite the obvious codename, Naruto was the culprit. But how could have the stupid blonde gotten around to take the damned picture? Only one way to find out…_

* * *

Sakura ambled off to class with an almost permanent frown on her face. She can't believe the person she believed to be her _knight in shining armor _would do something as despicable as spreading an awfully counterfeit rumor just to prove to the whole school that the school's student council and honor student wasn't immune to his _charms_, ruining her image as a decent student in the process.

It truly didn't help that her deep emotions, especially anger, seems to be hard-wired to her tear ducts. She felt the stinging tears water her eyes and made her vision go blur around the edges. As one tell-tale tear slipped by her cheek, she found her resolve. Wiping the drop of moisture away with one quick swipe of her hand, she realized she shouldn't be affected this much since the rumor wasn't true.

But in truth, it wasn't about the phony rumors that she was shedding tears about, it was the sting of the betrayal she felt. It felt like her heart was being constricted tightly and painfully while being pricked by needles at the same time. Willing to keep the pain at bay, she focused on the anger she felt on the fact that she was deceived, not the pain of being betrayed.

How could he do this? And why would he? Is it all just for the sake of his reputation on being a playboy? Was it because he just found her a bit more challenging compared to his fangirls that would jump at him at any given opportunity? Was that all she was to her? A toy? Someone he could play with when he was bored, and then walk away without a backward glance once he was tired of her?

She already heard about the gossips about Konoha's number one heartbreaker. In fact, the whole campus knows about his reputation, maybe even the whole town did. Maybe that was it; he was proving that he could get someone once he set his eyes on her, even a quiet and timid nerd like her.

_He must be very proud now that he had proven his point, _Sakura thought grimly.

Then, the ultimate question: What did the kiss last Friday at Gym class mean? Was it just some part of Sasuke's scheme to lure her in? Was her memorable first kiss just stolen from her for the expense of one devious, conceited man's reputation?

Her head pounded from so much thinking. Sakura didn't want the answers that popped from the back of her head that all that happened to her was just a game devised by a man with compelling, but deceiving, coal black orbs. She didn't want to think anymore. She'd just let the chips fall where they may and let herself be swept by the tide, even if she felt like drowning in it just to end her problems.

Sighing for the umpteenth time that dreadful morning, she felt the glares intensify over the period of time. It only worsened the situation that nearly every single girl in school was glaring daggers at her. She could almost feel the glowers burn a hole at the back of her head. She could finally relate about the quote; _if looks could kill_. Good thing looks couldn't kill; otherwise she'd be dead by now.

Once she entered the room, a meaningful silence filled the air conditioned room. Every single gossiping voice that previously filled the room was cut short just by her presence. Keeping her head low, she walked silently to her seat, feeling the curious gazes and chilling glares following her every movement. Slumping down to her seat, she immediately grabbed the thick Biology book she wasn't finished reading and used it as a measure for cover, hiding her face between the pages.

A few more seconds passed, and then the buzz of chatter filled the room as they willed their gaze away from the pink-haired girl. She sighed in relief, not realizing that she was holding her breath. Sakura relaxed her stiff shoulders.

After a few minutes of chatter, the bell rang and the teacher arrived. As the teacher droned on and on about something she could care less about right now, she skimmed through her situation right now. She ignored the jabbering teacher since she had more pressing matters right now than Einstein's theory of relativity.

After heaving another sigh, she wished she could just disappear, or at least all her _problems _would. As she doodled mindlessly on her notes, her thoughts drifted away.

She thought of all the incidents she had with Uchiha Sasuke. She had to figure out when he started to deceive her and most of all, why her? Of all people?

The very first one was last Friday, in the hallway heading to the gym, where she bumped accidentally on him and he caught her by the waist… At the thought, her cheeks burned. She still remembered the way his coal black smoldering eyes held her into place, making her immobile as she stared into his black depths, all the way to his soul.

Shaking her head to clear those thoughts away, she decided that it was impossible for that to be part of his scheme. It was just an accident, a simple coincidence. Besides, it was her fault anyway.

The second one was when she arrived late at the gym. As she was getting scolded by Zabuza-sensei, he arrived, holding her PE uniform and calling her by her first name. This caused suspicions to arise for the first time. Then, when he handed her the uniform, she still felt the tingling sensation in her hand when their fingers touched for half a second that felt like a small eternity to her. She didn't know if he felt the same too.

She sighed _again_. Why do her thoughts always stray to him and the feeling he awakens in her whenever he was around? Going back to the point…

The thing about the "felt a spark of electricity when our finger's touched for barely a second" bit was probably just her imagination. But… maybe this was the time he started playing with her, since he deliberately called her by her first name when they were barely friends, let alone lovers.

_He probably didn't even know I existed before all this big mess._

Then, the third one was the most shocking for her… and also the most painful. At first, all she felt was shock; wide-eyed shock at being kissed by the school's campus crush. As the shock slowly wore off, wonder took its place. She was totally and completely blissed out by this momentous moment in her teenage life. But when knowledge and apprehension finally sank down on her, the notion of deceit and lies tainted her beautiful vision.

As her ignorance was tore away from her, courtesy of a photo spread swiftly all around the school like fire on a dry bush, her vision of once-upon-a-time and happily-ever after was shattered. She felt blinding rage as it finally dawned onto her. The idea of suffering silently through the scornful glares and derogatory remarks being murmured behind her back when it wasn't really her fault was too much to bear.

But as the seconds ticked by, the fire of her anger slowly burned out, until it was replaced by utter dejection. The feeling of misery overshadowed her anger, like cold water to a raging flame, turning her cold. She never thought it would hurt this much, that this betrayal would feel as intense as this. She had to blink back tears everytime she would think about it.

Not wanting to be all doom and gloom anymore, she thought of the next occurrence that happened to her everytime the Uchiha was involved.

Then it clicked into her brain, like a light bulb being flashed on.

That was it, the _flirty wink! _He was definitely already playing with her that time.

Next one was the most noble of all: he saved her from those rapists by the dark alley. Though she really had no idea how or when exactly it happened, since she was out cold at that time, the relief that she felt was something that would never change. Despite knowing that she was lied to, she still felt the same amount of gratitude as before to the man who had saved her.

Now that you think about it, almost all of the events she had concerning the Uchiha was him saving her.

First: their collision on the hallway. If he hadn't caught her in time, she was positive that falling on her rear end would hurt.

Second: the retrieval of her uniform. If he wouldn't have returned the uniform back to her, she would've gotten scolded all the more by the demon coach. And _that_ wasn't such a beautiful sight to behold.

Third: the wink he sent her was to reassure her that everything would be fine. And it turned out well, as he assured her. Her frail self-esteem and the little bits and pieces of her infinitesimal dignity were saved. All thanks to him. Oh, and it just wasn't her dignity and self-confidence that were saved, probably her physical state as well. She wasn't sure if she could prevent herself from not spraining her wrist or anything else if she was forced to play badminton.

Fourth and the most important of it all: He saved her from those perverts last Friday night. She couldn't even think what would've happened if he arrived a minute too late or if he hadn't arrived at all… She shuddered delicately as a flash of dread coursed through her spine.

All in all, he couldn't really get too angry at Sasuke. No matter what angle you would look at it and despite his now-known intentions, he was still her knight in shining armor.

Annoyed at the conclusion she'd just drawn; she frowned then let out _another _sigh. Still, she couldn't deny the fact that what she just concluded was true. He _was _her savior too many times now.

* * *

_**A/N: Not much happening in here. Thanks for reading anyway. And about all the questions why all the chapters so far are just Sasuke and Sakura's flashbacks, here's the thing. Actually, I never expected that so many people would read this thing. And to be honest, I never planned anything right from the start. I just kinda got along with the flow, y'know. So, naturally, I was never sure of how it would end. And the only thing i'm sure now is that this story is goin' to be pretty long since the flashbacks already used up seven chapters. And I'm not done with the flashbacks yet. Hope you can stay with me until the end.**_

_**P.S. I'm open to suggestions and comments. And I would gladly answer some questions you might have for me.**_

_**P.S.S. and for the love of all that's holy, please give me a review to make me motivated. I really appreciate that you include me and my stories in your favorites list, but I really need some inspirations. Especially now. Please?**_

_**Yours truly,**_

_**Authoress WatashiNoTenshi07.ü**_

_**~ LOL XD. I've always wanted to do that. :D**_


	10. Chapter 10: Two Saviors For A Lucky Girl

_**A/N: Hey guys ! :D **_

_**As you can see, I'm having a great time. Just watched ECLIPSE ! **__It was so friggin' awesome ! Though some parts were cut and edited, it still turned out great. The fighting scenes were so cool ! All hail Jasper! All I hated was Bella gets to kiss both of them ! Ugh, then after kissing the steamy werewolf she just leaves him alone. Poor Jake. Don't get me wrong, I also love Edward but as most of us are, we belong to TEAM SWITZERLAND! Yeah, just let me ramble, okay? I have to get it all out or I'll burst later. :) Anyways, _here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

_**P.S. Twi-haters that have read my rant, please don't send me flames. Not my fault I fell for Edward and Jake. Couldn't help it, really. :)  
**_

* * *

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_Now that you think about it, almost all of the events she had concerning the Uchiha was him saving her._

_First: their collision on the hallway. If he hadn't caught her in time, she was positive that falling on her rear end would hurt._

_Second: the retrieval of her uniform. If he wouldn't have returned the uniform back to her, she would've gotten scolded all the more by the demon coach. And that wasn't such a beautiful sight to behold._

_Third: the wink he sent her was to reassure her that everything would be fine. And it turned out well, as he assured her. Her frail self-esteem and the little bits and pieces of her infinitesimal dignity were saved. All thanks to him. Oh, and it just wasn't her dignity and self-confidence that were saved, probably her physical state as well. She wasn't sure if she could prevent herself from not spraining her wrist or anything else if she was forced to play badminton._

_Fourth and the most important of it all: He saved her from those perverts last Friday night. She couldn't even think what would've happened if he arrived a minute too late or if he hadn't arrived at all… She shuddered delicately as a flash of dread coursed through her spine._

_All in all, he couldn't really get too angry at Sasuke. No matter what angle you would look at it and despite his now-known intentions, he was still her knight in shining armor._

_Annoyed at the conclusion she'd just drawn; she frowned then let out another sigh. Still, she couldn't deny the fact that what she just concluded was true. He was her savior too many times now._

* * *

She was startled out of her thoughts when the bell suddenly rang. She cringed in her seat and the red pen she was using to scribble unthinkingly on her notes slipped out of her hand and rolled to the end of the table then clattered as it fell to the ground.

She stood up from her seat to grab her fallen pen. Just a few inches before she could pick the writing implement up, a high-heeled foot with French manicured nails stepped down on it. Startled, she looked up. It was Ayaka Tachibana and her friends; Ami Ibuki, Yuka Hidomi, and Mio Tsuma**. (A/N: These are my OCs)**

Ayaka Tachibana had chin-length olive hair and dark blue eyes. Ami Ibuki had blue hair reaching the middle of her back and amber eyes. Yuka Hidomi had long black hair tied up in a high ponytail with a purple ribbon matching her amethyst eyes. Mio Tsuma had wavy brown hair and turquoise eyes.

Still unresponsive, Ayaka mock-apologized in her high-pitched shrilly voice,

"Oh, sorry." Then her face twisted into a scowl when Sakura remained impassive to her display of rudeness.

Sakura, already reaching almost the edge of her patience, gripped the edges of her table to stop from hitting something, especially the bitch's _precious_ face.

Ayaka thoroughly ignored, snapped.

"You'd better stay away from Sasuke-sama if you want to survive middle school." She hissed.

Unable to hold back, Sakura snapped back,

"Or what?"

Shocked at the girl's outburst, she glared and grabbed a handful of Sakura's almost waist-length hair and jerked her head toward her.

Before Ayaka could hiss threats and insults to her again, someone spoke in a deep, baritone voice,

"What are you doing?"

Surprised, they whipped their heads toward the direction of the voice.

There, just by the doorway of the classroom, was _Sai_. **_(A/N: Thought it was Sasuke, didn't you? XD)_**

Then Ayaka's hand released her pink tresses. Her scalp stings, it was scraped by Ayaka's long nails.

Ayaka and her friends stuttered for an excuse at being caught.

"Um...Uh, we were just –"

Before she could finish, Sai said,

"Spare me your excuses, get out of here before I report you to Tsunade-sama."

The four scurried out the classroom, their high-heeled shoes clicking on the hardwood floor of the room.

As Sakura was massaging her throbbing scalp, Sai trudged toward her and picked up her fallen pen.

As Sai looked up, he saw small drops of moisture soaking Sakura's school skirt. He immediately put his hand on her chin to lift it up. Sure enough, Sakura was crying.

"Oi, Ugly. Stop crying, you'd get much uglier."

At that statement, the girl swiped the tears with one shaking hand.

"Oh. Sorry."

She stood up, Sai as well.

Right at the moment that Ayaka-bitch grabbed her bubblegum pink hair, her patience snapped. It was just so unfair; none of this mess was her fault. It was their entire fault! They're so narrow-minded to assume that such things happened between her and Sasuke.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Sai wiped a solitary tear sliding cross her cheek using his blue handkerchief.

"Thanks."

Sai grabbed her right hand and gave her the handkerchief.

"I think you should hold on to that."

Then, he grabbed something from his table and left.

Noticing she was almost late on her next subject, she grabbed the red pen lying on her table, stuffed it in her bag then left.

* * *

Sasuke trudged along the hallway heading to the school cafeteria. Currently pissed off, he glared at every person meeting his furious onyx gaze.

_I hope the dobe stays in there for a while._

Sasuke thought grimly. Naruto was presently in the school infirmary after receiving a punch from a certain Uchiha demanding an explanation about the school paper front page fiasco.

Growling under his breath, he didn't know what made him so riled up about this. Or maybe he knew, just not wanting to admit it even to himself. The furious but hurt glare he received this morning from a pink haired girl was certainly it. Seriously, he wouldn't have minded if every girl in the school loathed him and gave him piercing glares, _hell_, he'd even prefer that than drooling and ogling fangirls. So what made that all change?

He knew the answer perfectly well. Just not keen about it, again. A single girl, who he didn't even notice since last week, changed his perspective. A pink haired girl who made him feel everything he hadn't felt in all his life. A girl who was fragile and defenseless which made him save her the last time she was in a dire situation.

Despite his Uchiha pride, he certainly didn't know what to do about Sakura. It should be simple. Just walk up to her and apologize. Easy and simple. Why make it so complicated?

Not that he wanted to make everything difficult and downright complicated, there was just one _tiny_ little problem. He wasn't sure on exactly _how_ to apologize.

He didn't even know what to apologize for, since it was all his stupid supposed bestfriend's fault for misunderstanding and jumping to _very_ erroneous conclusions, misleading the rest of Konoha High's populace, as well.

Being the Uchiha he was and being praised by every single girl in school, he never had the reason to apologize, _ever_.

So, how to do it? Willing himself to think positive, he tried to use the words needed to apologize.

Even just thinking about it made him feel weird, what more if he tried to say it with his own lips and tongue?

_I'm sorry._

Two words, three syllables, and seven letters. That's what it all is.

_Just say it!_

He hissed to himself in irritation.

Not deciding yet on what exactly to do, he reached the cafeteria. Chatter was buzzing right through his ear just as he reached the double doors of the school canteen.

Walking in, he heard the customary squeals and giggles courtesy of his dedicated fangirls. Not really in the mood today to even tolerate the shrieking and screeching of his admirers, he glared at one girl who attempted to approach him to invite him into joining their table. The reaction was immediate; the girl was close to tears in seconds, her bestfriend placating her as they walked back dejectedly to their table.

Satisfied with the result, he continued to trudge off. Still undecided, he closed his eyes briefly in exasperation. Just a half second after closing his eyes, he collided with something, or rather _someone_.

About to open his eyes to glare and snap at the person, he stared for another second to do a double take. He just bumped with Sakura Haruno, _again_. He wondered briefly if it was a tradition in the making.

Apparently, the collision caused Sakura to stumble back to steady herself and avoid falling flat on her back side.

As she looked up to apologize, she was captured in the depths of _very_ familiar black pools. Staring at each other for another few seconds, Sakura was the first to recover. She sent him a brief but venomous glare then whirled around to storm off in the other direction.

Sasuke, still unused to harsh treatment and cold shoulders, was left stunned at Sakura's glare. Then as the pink-haired girl turned, long pink hair swirling behind her, Sasuke was momentarily distracted by the sweet strawberry and cherries scent wafting off to his nose. But remembering what he had to do, he ordered his body to move.

* * *

_**A/N: Er, so what do you think? Too random? Too cliche? Tell me whatcha think, okay? :) And sorry about any grammar or spelling mistake cause I don't have a beta reader yet. Please give me some reviews to know what you readers think about my story. Honestly, the rate of my reviewers went down this past week and so I'm doubting if I'm doing any good at all. Just click the little button down there. Not a hard thing to do, right?**_

_**Authoress WatashiNoTenshi07 out! Peace y'all ! :)  
**_


	11. Chapter 11: The Awaited Reconciliation

**_A/N: Here is it. I hope you'll forgive me if this chapter seems to be quite rushed. Because in all honesty, it is. _**

**_Our exams is in a few days and I haven't started reviewing yet. I've been procrastinating that part for as long as I could. I guess I'll just cram. XD _**

**_I mean, seriously, who wants to memorize every freakin' country and capital in every freakin' continent in the world? I swear my world history teacher does that just to piss me off._**

_**Sigh, please ignore my rant. Read on y'all. :)**_

* * *

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_About to open his eyes to glare and snap at the person, he stared for another second to do a double take. He just bumped with Sakura Haruno, again. He wondered briefly if it was a tradition in the making._

_Apparently, the collision caused Sakura to stumble back to steady herself and avoid falling flat on her back side._

_As she looked up to apologize, she was captured in the depths of very familiar black pools. Staring at each other for another few seconds, Sakura was the first to recover. She sent him a brief but venomous glare then whirled around to storm off in the other direction._

_Sasuke, still unused to harsh treatment and cold shoulders, was left stunned at Sakura's glare. Then as the pink-haired girl turned, long pink hair swirling behind her, Sasuke was momentarily distracted by the sweet strawberry and cherries scent wafting off to his nose. But remembering what he had to do, he ordered his body to move._

* * *

He snatched Sakura's elbow before she could take another step forward. At that, the girl stiffened. She looked up at Sasuke with defiant, glittering emerald eyes.

"What do you want?" She spat at him.

Keeping his face impassive and emotionless as ever, he spoke,

"We need to talk."

He flinched inwardly at how cliché those words sounded.

At those words, the livid façade Sakura put on was ripping by the seams. The flicker of hurt was leaking through her eyes.

"We don't have anything else to talk about. Please, I have something else to do." She averted her gaze from his hypnotizing black orbs, also trying to pry his hold from her elbow.

But the Uchiha wouldn't let go.

Instead, she heard him speak softly,

"_Please_… Sakura."

Surprised at the sudden character change, she looked up at him. His eyes were softer now, no trace of the indifference and apathy he'd shown earlier. Even his voice had an edgy pleading tone to it.

Sakura, seeing the clear sincerity from his coal black orbs, couldn't possibly refuse.

With a defeated sigh, she nodded at him.

Relieved that Sakura agreed, he tried to think of a possible place where they could have a heart-to-heart chat without having nosy eyes and ears prying into their conversation. At first, what he had in mind was just taking a seat by one of the empty lunch tables at the far end of the cafeteria would be enough, but seeing as they had already caught many of the students' attention, it was now simply out of the question.

The next idea that came to his mind might just do the trick.

"The rooftop."

Sakura raised a pink eyebrow in question, but when she felt the tense and quiet atmosphere in the previously chatter-filled cafeteria, she understood what they needed: _privacy_.

Suddenly, her right hand was captured by Sasuke's grasp. He continued to drag her swiftly out of the cafeteria. By the time they reached the deserted hallways leading to the location of the rooftop, his pace slowed, but still holding Sakura's hand.

Walking towards the direction of the rooftop, Sakura stared at their intertwined hands.

As they reached the door leading to the school's rooftop, Sasuke shoved the door open and entered, dragging Sakura along with him since he held her hand, rather quite tightly.

Reaching a standstill at the rooftop, a pregnant and awkward pause passed between the both of them.

Aware that he had to break the silence since he was the one who wanted them to talk and invited her here in the first place, but also knowing the fact that he had no idea what to say.

"About the photo…" He started.

Sakura raised one pink eyebrow. Swallowing compulsively, he continued,

"I swear I had nothing to do with it. It was all Naruto's fault." Then, he proceeded to tell her the whole truth.

After a few minutes of tense silence, only broken by Sasuke's hurried explanation, hope bloomed within him as he saw Sakura's expressive green eyes convey doubt and disbelief. It then changed increment by small increment, into wholehearted trust and faith in him as his explanation progressed on.

Sasuke's explanation was plausible, Sakura thought as she chewed the information over in a logical and rational way. But, at the same time, it also had its flaws. Why would she believe him anyway? What if it's all a part of Sasuke's conniving scheme?

But something told her from the way his eyes smoldered, or the way his voice sounded very earnest and truthful, or even the way his posture and body language was all tense, as if preparing for her rebuff. Though Sakura could see he was trying to maintain his infamous devil-may-care attitude, she could see right through the cracks of his façade. Besides, it was quite unusual for someone like him to go through all these lengths just to apologize to her and tell her about everything.

As Sasuke let Sakura digest all the information he just gave her, Sasuke was a nervous wreck inside. He didn't even know why. It was all just a feeling in his gut, like a serrated knife was waiting to twist into knots inside his chest if Sakura's rejection came.

Then,

"I believe you." He heard Sakura say softly.

He was shocked at the girl's composed voice and unwavering gaze focused on him. It wasn't what he expected. He expected on the spot refusal or at least a barrage of questions to validate his explanation. It wasn't like this, _at all._ Not Sakura smiling softly at him with warm emerald eyes.

Sakura watched the myriad of emotions swirling beneath Sasuke's usually emotionless onyx orbs.

Shock. Disbelief. Awe. _Joy_.

She was never sure why she believed him, anyways. Perhaps she just wanted to take the chance, because she _wanted_ to believe in him. She was willing to take the risk and trust him again; hoping that it everything would turn out to be better.

As they continued to stare at each other in reverent silence, it was most definitely clear that no words were needed to be said. Their gazes told everything.

Seeing remnants of disbelief in Sasuke's onyx eyes, she held her hand out to him for a handshake, a sign of reconciliation and a silent promise of renewed trust.

Sasuke was still unsure if this was real or if it was just his imagination, when he saw the pink haired girl in front of him held out her hand to him in a handshake.

He looked up at her, and what he saw made all the reluctance and disbelief in him disappear into thin air.

_Sakura was smiling tenderly at him._

Willing other thoughts away and just bask in this sweet moment of reconciliation between the two of them, he held out his hand to grip Sakura's.

As soon as their hands made contact, _it_ was there again, the sudden spark of electricity running from their palm to their fingertips, making every nerve of their hand like a live wire.

Both of them, unaware that the other felt it too, decided to ignore the peculiar sensation that ran through their linked hands.

Everything was fine now.

That was all that mattered to them at that moment.

* * *

**_A/N: Awww... Sasu-kun is just adorable isn't he? Don't we all love reunions? Good thing Saku-chan forgave him. Please leave me a review, if you would be so kind. :)_**


	12. Chapter 12: Where's The Shining Armor?

_**A/N: Yo, minna! How's it going? :)**_

_**Sigh, finally I was able to update! Our midterm exams are done so that's one burden out of my shoulders. Ugh, I just received a very annoying review, my **first** flame actually.**_

_**She kept rubbing in my face that I practically **tricked **you, my readers, into reading this story because the summary portrayed a celebrity theme, something quite unique so that got you guys interested. But (shamefully, in my part) so far, the story was completely a high school drama thing.**_

_**I thought I already explained why things got messed up? Read it **again**, if you please. It seems you **haven't** understood a single thing I just explained. If you don't like reading awfully cliché high school themed fics, then **don't**. No one was forcing you to do so, in the first place.**_

_**I know there must be a couple of you guys who are disappointed because of how this story turned out to be. And though i already have apologized, I repeat: I AM SO VERY SORRY.**_

_**Oh, by the way, I FINALLY GOT MY OWN BETA READER ! Isn't that great? You guys could read much better chapters without grammar and spelling mistakes! Thanks so much Mojo-JoJo13 ! As well as tenshi303 for the suggestion. Though it was only this time that I had the nerve to send her a message. XD**_

_**Thanks a bunch for the greatest considerate readers and reviewers out there. Free cookies for them:**_

_**~Iceechibi**_

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_**For anyone who I might have forgotten. I apologize. But if you know yourself that you forgive me for my mistake, then you have a cookie too! ;)**_

_**Disclaimer: Will I really get sued if I don't type this every friggin' time? Oh well, I think I'll take my chances. XD**_

_**Oh man, this was a long authoress' note. Probably my longest, well, except the previous chapter. On with the SasuSaku lovin'!**_

* * *

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_Sasuke was still unsure if this was real or if it was just his imagination, when he saw the pink haired girl in front of him held out her hand to him in a handshake._

_He looked up at her, and what he saw made all the reluctance and disbelief in him disappear into thin air._

_Sakura was smiling tenderly at him._

_Willing other thoughts away and just bask in this sweet moment of reconciliation between the two of them, he held out his hand to grip Sakura's._

_As soon as their hands made contact, it was there again, the sudden spark of electricity running from their palm to their fingertips, making every nerve of their hand like a live wire._

_Both of them, unaware that the other felt it too, decided to ignore the peculiar sensation that ran through their linked hands._

_Everything was fine now._

_That was all that mattered to them at that moment._

* * *

Peering cautiously through the computer lab's glass window, Ayaka sneered at the oblivious person she was currently glaring at.

"That bitch, how could she steal Sasuke-sama from us?" Ami screeched.

"Yeah. She isn't even worth a second of Sasuke-sama's precious time." The turquoise-eyed Mio seconded.

"We should make her pay." Yuka said, her amethyst eyes narrowing in anger.

Their self-proclaimed leader, Ayaka, turned to them with a wicked glint in her blue eyes.

"I know just the thing." She cackled evilly.

Then, turned to face again the window where she could see the oblivious pink haired girl.

"You should be careful, Haruno."

* * *

As Sakura continued to type her thesis, she finally noticed the time.

"Shoot, it's already seven in the evening!" Looking around her, she became aware that the hall outside the computer lab was silent and by looking out through the windows, it was already dark. That made sense given that it was already four hours since their dismissal time.

Hurrying, she saved the file, and shut the PC off. Then, she grabbed her bag and left the room.

She walked through the quiet hallway of Konoha High leading to the front exit. Just before she reached the far end where she would take a left turn, she felt something hit the back of her head, hard.

Then, she passed out.

* * *

A figure emerged out of the Olympic-sized swimming pool of Konoha High.

Sasuke, dripping wet, grabbed his navy blue towel. He was just practicing for the upcoming swimming contest between the Iwa High and Konoha High, though it was still a couple of months away. There wasn't any band practice today and he didn't want to go home early so he decided to swim a bit. Although, looking outside, he must've been carried away since it was already dark.

As he was busy toweling himself, he noticed he left his bag at his classroom. He wouldn't be able to take a quick shower without his change of clothes. Sighing heavily, he draped the towel on his shoulders and left to go get his bag.

Trudging through the corridors of the campus, he heard faint sounds. Stopping to listen more carefully, he wondered why there were still other students inside the school grounds. Straining to hear clearer, he heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Someone was slapped.

* * *

Sakura woke up when something wet and cold hit her face. It was a bucket-full of water. Looking up, she saw who the culprit was, it was Ayaka. The pail was just on the ground beside her and she was glaring at Sakura. Behind the banshee were her other protégés; Ami, Yuka, and Mio.

Her head hurt. It stung because of the unexpected cold water. Ignoring the ache, she looked up to glower back at the olive haired witch. Moving to stand up, she realized something hindered her movements. She was tied. Her hands were bound tightly by a rough rope to the back of the wooden chair.

"What do you want, Ayaka?" She spit out through gritted teeth, her emerald eyes searing a hole through the preppy snob's forehead.

Flipping her hair away from her shoulder, she leaned forward so she was in eye to eye level to the tied pink-haired girl.

"I want you to listen to me, Haruno."

Hearing there was no reply of affirmation or contradiction from the girl, she continued.

"I want you to stay away from _my _Sasuke-kun. How could you do this? It must've all been part of your plan, acting all silent and nerdy to get Sasuke-kun's attention. You piece of trash should stay away from Sasuke-kun, you slut! "

The only thing that stopped her tirade was a rather loud cough, obviously against of Sasuke being Ayaka's only.

The interrupted witch corrected,

"I mean, _our _Sasuke-kun."

Her whole conceited speech made me reach the precipice of my already-stretched-thin patience. Unable to hold back the biting words rising out of my throat, I spat back at her.

"And if I don't?" I raised my pink eyebrow in bold defiance.

Not expecting my brave rebuff, the banshee flushed in anger. She raised one French manicured-hand and _slapped_ me.

"You have no right to be near Sasuke-kun! He is _ours!" _She screeched in my face just after slapping me.

In all honesty, the bitch slap hurt. My head was whipped to the other side because of the impact, my long pink wet locks clinging to my stinging cheek. I wouldn't be surprised if my cheek would swell, she probably also slashed my cheek with her long witch nails.

But the pain urged me on; it served as fuel, feeding the fire growing stronger within me. Then I _snapped._

"Sasuke is _not _yours! He is _not _anyone's possession! Because he is _not _a thing! You act like you own him when you don't even know a single thing! So don't act like you own him!" I screamed in frustration.

Stunned by my outburst, they stood frozen in front of me while I glared straight through their eyes. I wasn't done just yet.

"You are too narrow-minded and stupid to assume that something happened between Uchiha-san and I! It was all just a big misunderstanding but instead of trying to know the truth, you guys jumped to conclusions and accused me of being a _slut_!"

I spat the last word out with as much contempt as I could muster. Slightly panting from my sudden outburst, a small part of my brain reprimanded me that this kind of behavior was slightly out of character from the usual 'shy nerd with glasses' persona they usually see me in. But I just couldn't help it. I felt like my patience was a thin cord that was stretched right into its very limit until it finally snapped.

Finally breaking out of my 'quiet and timid' shell felt liberating in a way.

Seconds after my judicious screaming, the head witch finally recovered from my attack.

"How dare you?" was her genius reply. How cliché, something original, please?

Stomping in my direction, she raised her hand with long French-tipped nails to slap me again.

But it never came… courtesy of a masculine and _very_ familiar voice.

_"Stop it."_

Ayaka's hand stopped midair, a couple of inches away from my still throbbing and scratched cheek.

Her face was a combination of shock and fear. Shock, because she never expected to be caught red-handed by her dear Sasuke-kun. And well, who wouldn't be scared shitless when your dear Sasuke-kun was glaring – no, _glowering_, actually – at you with those smoldering onyx orbs?

Wait, this scene looks familiar. Ah, right, the damsel in distress saved once again by her dear knight in shining armor... only this time, the knight in shining armor _wasn't_ in armor; only in a frickin' swimming trucks with matching drenched raven hair.

_WTF?_

_

* * *

_**_A/N: Oyea! What do you guys say? Hmm... shirtless, dripping wet Sasuke. What could get any better than that? Heehee. Cliffies... ;)_**

**_Speaking of Sasuke..._**

**_HAPPY BIRTHDAY SASUKE-KUN!_**

**_Yes, today is Sasuke Uchiha's birthday. Let's celebrate his godly looks and awesomeness!_**

**_Oh, before I forget (again), please join the poll on my profile if you guys have already read my other story, The Devil's Angel._**

**_Just a heads up, I'll be deleting my Authoress' note, the previous chapter, the next time I'll be updating a chapter, okay? You guys must likely have read that already, so no prob. But for those who skipped that part, please read it again so there won't be any misunderstandings in the future about the story's plot._**

**_P.S. If you're dying to know what's happen next, please send me a review to know your theories and expectations. I really love reading those kind of stuff. :)_**

**_Or if you just like to rant on and on about something in this story, I'll be willing to read. :D_**

**_Remember my infamous motto: More reviews, faster updates._**

**_Yosh! I'm done here. Ciao!_**

_~Authoress WatashiNoTenshi07 out!~_


	13. Chapter 13: Saving The Damsel

_**A/N: Hey, guys! Apparently, I (barely) survived school's harsh conditions: ginormous lists of home works and projects, terror teachers, and ultimate boredom during class hours. So, as a wakeup call to remind you guys that I'm still alive, I'm gonna give you guys the next chapter for the story. :)**_

_**Oh by the way, I just wanna announce that this is the very first chapter that was corrected and revised by my very own, recent beta reader, Mojo-JoJo13 ! She's completely awesome. So I'm much more confident now that starting now, the chapters would be a hell of a lot better since she's around.**_

_**Random thought: Has anybody here read the book **__**Evermore: The Immortals by Alyson Noel**__**? Or maybe the novel **__**Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber**__**? Or possibly the **__**House Of Night Novel by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast**__**? Haha, you could pretty much guess that I'm a bookworm. :D Okay, I got to stop now. Man, do I sound dorky. Sigh…**_

_**Free Skittles for them for sending me awesome reviews:**_

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_**~Iceechibi**_

_**~Sam-AKA-SakuxSasuLover**_

_**So, now that you have your own skittles, you can now read the next chapter. **_

_**Oh, to avoid further confusion, this chapter is purely on Sasuke's point of view.**_

_**Standard disclaimer is applied.**_

_

* * *

PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_Stomping in my direction, she raised her hand with long French-tipped nails to slap me again._

_But it never came… courtesy of a masculine and __very__ familiar voice._

_"Stop it."_

_Ayaka's hand stopped midair, a couple of inches away from my still throbbing and scratched cheek._

_Her face was a combination of shock and fear. Shock, because she never expected to be caught red-handed by her dear Sasuke-kun. And well, who wouldn't be scared shitless when your dear Sasuke-kun was glaring – no, __glowering__, actually – at you with those smoldering onyx orbs?_

_Wait, this scene looks familiar. Ah, right, the damsel in distress saved once again by her dear knight in shining armor... only this time, the knight in shining armor __wasn't__ in armor; only in a frickin' swimming trucks with matching drenched raven hair._

_WTF?_

* * *

I decided to come out from my hiding place behind the door and intervene when Ayaka – my most _annoyingly_ obsessed fangirl – raised her sure-to-be manicured hand to probably slap the pink-haired girl tied to the wooden chair.

"Stop it," I hissed at her. Her eyes widened and then an unmistakable emotion passed through her eyes – _fear_.

So, probably I was glaring at her, I didn't care at the moment. I was too pissed off to think about the other minor things. The only thing running through my mind was that they were hurting the one person I was protecting so thoroughly since this past week.

It was such a shame that Sakura's _fair and flawless_ cheek was now swollen and scratched by the banshee in front of her.

_No! I did not just think of that! What the hell is wrong with me? This is not the right time to be thinking of these things! _

Continuing the glare, I stalked forward. While I closed the distance between us, the bitch was obviously trying to back off, but too stunned to even move.

"S-Sasuke-kun, "Ayaka stuttered, but I rudely interrupted her.

"Don't call me so familiarly," I said, my voice calm but acidic.

Then, a small soprano voice caught my attention.

"Uchiha-san…" It was Sakura.

Averting my eyes from Ayaka to the bound pink-haired girl, I asked her, "Are you alright, Sakura?"

Her eyes widened fractionally as I called her by her first name, but nodded nonetheless.

Turning back to Ayaka, I hissed at her, my tone acerbic, "Get out of my sight before I do something you won't like, and if you do something like this again, I'll make sure you _won't_ get away unscathed."

I spoke the words with as much scorn as I could amass while keeping my voice calm and collected. I was hanging on to my sanity by mere fingertips. I felt the need to hit something so badly, and apparently, the top candidate for that _something_ was Ayaka. I couldn't care less that she was a girl. My patience for this bitch had reached its very precipice. Besides, I'm pretty sure no one would be disappointed if someone bashed her _pretty_ _face_.

Ayaka, finally getting the message, scrambled out the room, her equally-shocked sidekicks scuffling out after the sound of their heels swiftly clicking against the floor faded, I turned back to Sakura.

She looked completely messed up. Sakura was still tied to the chair, wet pink locks clinging to her slightly swollen cheek, and even her school blouse was drenched in water.

I knelt down behind the chair, releasing the ropes that bound Sakura captive on the wooden chair. After a minute or two of detangling the complicated knots those girls did, the rope finally loosened. Once she was released, I inspected her wrist.

Just as I expected and to my utter dismay, the rough texture of the rope and the tight method her hands were tied up left abrasions on her smooth wrist.

I frowned. Those would definitely leave scars. Her smooth skin was defiled by that horrible creature. I felt the strangest urge to get back at that bitch. To do the things he'd done to Sakura.

_An eye for an eye. _

Or maybe ten times worse. She'd had Sakura's wrists scraped by the rough rope, so maybe I'd shove her face into a giant cheese grater and drag it until there was nothing left.

_Eew, disgusting. _

This is what I get for suffering two-hour long moronic horror movies with that moron Naruto.

Going back at the task at hand, I let go of her wrist and she immediately rubbed at them absently. It probably throbs. I should clean that scrape for her later.

Standing up from my current crouched position from behind the chair, I walked back briskly to kneel in front of her.

Her head was bowed, blocking the view of her face. I wondered why she was hiding her face from me.

As I reached out to cautiously lift her chin up, a sudden thought dawned on me.

And it struck me hard, freezing me into my place, my blood going cold.

_What if she hated me now? Or worse, what if she detested me? _

Dozens of '_what if'_ situations danced though my mind.

After all, it _was_ my fault she was attacked and held captive by a couple of girls that were _my_ greatest fangirls, though I never wanted the attention. However, whatever angle you look at the situation, it was my entire fault.

It seemed like problems and misunderstandings were piled in neat stacks upon us, one on top of the other just waiting to tumble down after the one under it was removed.

Hesitating, I paused for half a second, my hand hovering between us, and then continued on. I figured it be much better to know and face the truth, though it might hurt.

Gently lifting her chin up, I half-expected her dazzling forest green orbs to be flashing with anger, glaring at me full-force but what I saw was unexpected… _again_. This girl seemed to surprise me at every turn of events, finding the weak link in my armor of apathy and shield of stoicism.

She was blushing. Not just the blush that covered her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. It was a full-blown blush fest. Her face was beet red, the color of ripe tomatoes (Hmm… _yum_). It looked like even her neck and the tips of her ears were flushed. The color of her whole face gave the pink hue of her hair a run for their money.

I stared at her longer, trying to find out why the hell she was blushing. Was it out of anger? Fury?

Man, this girl _really_ is unpredictable.

_**

* * *

A/N: Sooo… How was it? Feel free to tell me your comments, suggestions, and corrections in your reviews. Just click the button down there, 'kay? And oh yeah, I just want to tell you guys that this story is probably pretty long. Maybe 20 or 30 chapters long, and that's not including the sequel yet. I mentioned this as a kind of a heads-up. For the impatient readers out there, sorry but y'all gotta wait a bit longer. I'm not really good with short stories even if I'm just a novice at writing fanfictions. Besides, a story would seem better if it wasn't rushed, right?**_

_**Okie-dokey-japanesy, now that I'm done, I'm out! **__**WatashiNoTenshi07 out!**_


	14. Chapter 14: Too Much To Handle

_**A/N: Uwaah, so tired. *yawn* Screw you, my stupid English teacher for assigning so many homeworks! Oh, ignore the rant.**_

_**Anyways, here's the next chapter. Oh man, I can't believe I haven't updated for more than three months. Sorry, my bad. I hope ya guys stick with this story much longer, and I'm sorry I can't update faster. I've been focusing lately on my other story. And since I've dedicated two months worth of time in it, I'm pretty sure I won't stray from it's summary this time. So now, I've got all the time to continue this one.:)**_

_**Hmm…have any of you guys read the book **__**Fallen by Lauren Kate**__**? I've been meaning to read that one but I'm not sure if it's really good. **__**The Night World series by L.J. Smith**__** captivated me, as well. I've been totally hooked on it. And I've just finished reading **__**L.J. Smith's Dark Visions**__**. It was awesome. **_

_**Ohyeah! My reviewers have increased by seven! Hmm… sixteen to twenty-three. Not bad. :) Hope this continues. ^^ I totally wuvv you all guys! Mua, mua. :3**_

_**Standard disclaimer is applied.**_

**_P.S. - This one's in Sakura's perspective, okay? _**

**_Guess it's really important to read my notes so that you won't get confuzzled about the alternating point of views. Man, I suck at this. Sorry._**

_**

* * *

Free M&Ms for them:**_

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_

* * *

PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_Gently lifting her chin up, I half-expected her dazzling forest green orbs to be flashing with anger, glaring at me full-force, but what I saw was unexpected… again. This girl seemed to surprise me at every turn of events, finding the weak link in my armor of apathy and shield of stoicism._

_She was blushing .And I'm not talking about a blush that covered her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, no, It was a full-blown blush fest. Her face was beet red, the color of ripe tomatoes (Hmm… yum). It looked like even her neck and the tips of her ears were flushed. The color of her whole face gave the pink hue of her hair a run for their money._

_I stared at her longer, trying to find out why the hell she was blushing. Was it out of anger? Fury?_

_Man, this girl really is unpredictable_.

* * *

I _was_ a-hundred-and-one-percent sure, I was blushing.

Good thing he was behind me, trying to release me from the wretched rope that scratched at my skin every time I moved.

As he continued fumbling with the accursed rope (probably done too complicated by those harpies), I tried to recall what happened these past few minutes that seemed to only be a blur.

_I passed out in the hallways and woke up when a bucket of cold water was poured on me by Ayaka. A couple of retorts from me and cat scratches from Ayaka with screams following…_She winced at the thought that Sasuke may have heard her shouting at Ayaka.

Really, it wasn't in her character at all. She should've been _the level-headed and rational _person who would've resolved this problem by talking, _not_ screaming.

However, the other part of her mind instinctively defended herself.

_She didn't really leave me much of a choice. Besides, she was the one who attacked me in the first place._

Ignoring Inner Sakura's half-validreason, she continued on with recalling what had happened moments earlier.

_After I screamed at Ayaka and her cronies, they were stunned by my outburst, that much I was sure of. Then, Ayaka flushed, I guessed she was embarrassed. She raised her hand to slap me... , but her hand never made contact with my cheek because of Sasuke... I mean, Uchiha-san…_

She was dumbfounded yet again that not only did he know where to arrive, but also that his timing was perfect. It seemed like destiny… or pure lucky coincidence. She willed herself to believe the latter but she knew she wasn't fooling anyone, especially herself.

Then, the mental picture of Sasuke standing proudly in all his glory right there in this classroom's doorway, dripping wet and half-naked suddenly popped into her mind.

He looked like a Greek god more than anyone had a right to. She didn't know how it was possible, but she blushed deeper while Inner Sakura melted into a puddle of pink goo.

_This is bad._

She bowed her flaming face down, her pink bangs giving more cover. Sakura tried futilely to dispel the blood that rushed to her cheeks; she was surprised that blood hadn't seeped out from her nose yet. It felt like her head was too full of blood right now. She remembered when she was hospitalized during her middle school days for anemia; well at least she knew she definitely wasn't anemic now.

Mortified that she couldn't even tone down her blush even for a small bit, she kept her head down, hoping Sasuke wouldn't see.

The ropes loosened, however, before she could pull her wrists in front of her to examine the damage inflicted by the coarse rope, she felt Sasuke's hands soothingly wrap around her wrist, turning it over so he could examine the scrapes.

A few seconds later, Sasuke let go of her hand. Instinctively, she rubbed absently at her wrist. It had a weird throbbing sensation. The blood rushing back to her veins made it feel like little pins were pricking her hands.

She heard Sasuke walk in front of her, but she kept her head down. The annoying blush still hadn't faded one bit.

Focusing on every bit of concentration she could muster, she willed her blush to fade away before Sasuke could notice and wonder why she was like this. Feeling a little lightheaded, she scrunched her eyes closed to push down the blush from her face.

Halfway into her rushed meditating state, she felt a hand tilting her chin up.

Cracking one eye open, what she saw made both of her eyes open wide.

Sasuke was kneeling close to her, _much_ too close.

His face was like a mask of concern, but also with a bit of confusion, and hers-was a bright scarlet. Their faces were just about an inch away from each other. She could feel his warm breath tickling her face and smell a faint trace of chlorine. Was he swimming at the pool at this ungodly hour? Well, that made sense since he was drenched and only had those should-be illegal black swimming trunks.

However, before she could pursue that thought further, she slipped up, badly.

Seeing the concern and confusion written plainly on his face, though she'd have to admit that he looked adorably confused, she averted her eyes down instinctively.

And that was a _really_ stupid mistake.

Looking down, she was now staring at the boy's chest, _toned and uncovered_ torso with few drops of water from his night swim. She stared, unconsciously mesmerized, as two small drops of water touched, then slowly glided down his flat tummy to the waistband of his swimming trunks.

All efforts of fighting back a blush went out the window the very second she realized what she was doing. She felt her face heating up double time.

_Crap! This is really bad! Avert your eyes, woman!_

With no choice to look back up since Sasuke was still holding on to her chin, she met his gaze for a brief moment. Unfortunately, Sasuke was obviously trying to find out why she was blushing, so his gaze trailed down to what she was previously staring at.

She almost heard his brain's gears start moving as he connected two and two together.

"_Oh."_

That low mumble of enlightenment sent her face aflame even more, but at the same time she felt herself get a little woozy. She screwed her eyes shut. Maybe it was because of the excessive blood now settling in her face.

_This is so embarrassing!_

Not only was she gawking (actually, Inner Sakura was already drooling, but that's beside the point) at the naked torso of Konoha High's resident playboy, she was also caught in the act by the same person himself.

Her instinct told her to escape this place that was making her feel awkward and uncomfortable.

Standing up abruptly on wobbly knees, she scrambled to her feet to exit the room faster than the speed of light… only to wonder why the world was falling sideways in her line of vision. It took her another moment to realize that she was fainting. All brain functions shutting down, the last thing she felt were a strong pair of arms that wrapped around her waist. Then the world went pitch black.

_**

* * *

A/N: How was it? The chapter was just Sakura going crazy. The usual. :D **_

_**I'll be expecting your reviews, my loyal reviewers! Your comments help out a lot. Thanks, guys!**_

_**Well then, I'll be going. I still have classes for tomorrow and my face has been smooshed in front of the monitor for six hours already.**_

_**Ja, minna! Hokey-pokey-lemon squeezy, I'm out!**_

_**Btw, please read my other story, guys. I need more reviews to make myself run right. Reviews are pretty much my energy bars when it comes to FF writing. :)**_


	15. Chapter 15: Something Smells Fishy

**_A/N: Yay! It's officially the start of Christmas vacation, that's why I was able to update today. *Sigh* I'm pretty much depressed today. Why did I have to see him? Ugh, I'm all doom and gloom now. -_-_**

**_Ouch, I just noticed I only had thirteen reviews for the previous chapter. Twenty-three to thirteen. Man, that was an epic fail. :_**

**_Anyways, here is the next chapter. I know it's pretty short but the next one is twice as long to make up for the shortness of this chapter. And just a little side note to avoid confusion:_**

**_THIS CHAPTER IS IN KIBA INUZUKA'S PERSPECTIVE!_**

**_Weird, right? I know. But I needed a non-Sakura/Sasuke point of view and dog-boy right here fit right in the scene I imagined, so I made him the narrator of this chapter. And I also know that some of my reviewers might get annoyed by my alternating-point-of-view habit but I really need to do this or else the story might get boring if the same one person would be telling the whole length of the story. See what I mean? _**

**_Okay, enough with the chitty-chat. Read on, y'all._**

* * *

_**Free Blueberry muffins for them for staying with this story this far:**_

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* * *

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_Looking down, she was now staring at the boy's chest, toned and uncovered torso with few drops of water from his night swim. She stared, unconsciously mesmerized, as two small drops of water touched, then slowly glided down his flat tummy to the waistband of his swimming trunks._

_All efforts of fighting back a blush went out the window the very second she realized what she was doing. She felt her face heating up double time._

_Crap! This is really bad! Avert your eyes, woman!_

_With no choice to look back up since Sasuke was still holding on to her chin, she met his gaze for a brief moment. Unfortunately, Sasuke was obviously trying to find out why she was blushing, so his gaze trailed down to what she was previously staring at._

_She almost heard his brain's gears start moving as he connected two and two together._

_"Oh."_

_That low mumble of enlightenment sent her face aflame even more, but at the same time she felt herself get a little woozy. She screwed her eyes shut. Maybe it was because of the excessive blood now settling in her face._

_This is so embarrassing!_

_Not only was she gawking (actually, Inner Sakura was already drooling, but that's beside the point) at the naked torso of Konoha High's resident playboy, she was also caught in the act by the same person himself._

_Her instinct told her to escape this place that was making her feel awkward and uncomfortable._

_Standing up abruptly on wobbly knees, she scrambled to her feet to exit the room faster than the speed of light… only to wonder why the world was falling sideways in her line of vision. It took her another moment to realize that she was fainting. All brain functions shutting down, the last thing she felt were a strong pair of arms that wrapped around her waist. Then the world went pitch black._

* * *

_Dammit! Where is that dog?_

Kiba thought exasperatedly as he lost track of his beloved Akamaru while going through their usual evening walk through the streets of Konoha. Normally, they'd travel through the town's main square or maybe the park, but this time Akamaru decided to drag him along towards the vicinity of Konoha High.

However, now here he was wandering the premises of the campus in the dark holding a leash that snapped when Akamaru lunged – too forcefully – forward.

_Great._

Sighing, he looked around the darkness surrounding him. Good thing the moon's shining brightly tonight, bathing the things around him in a silvery veil, but, wait, what's that –

He broke off mid thought. Wondering if his eyes were fooling him, he craned his neck and squinted hard. After a few seconds, he knew what he was seeing was there, indeed, but still, it made no sense.

Far in the distance, he could see a single light was still on in the direction of the high school department building. Curious and intrigued, he inched forward cautiously in the darkness avoiding to make any unnecessary noises that may result in him being found out.

Wait, – why was he sneaking anyway? All he knew was that his uncanny ability – his sixth sense, if you will – was tingling. Something fishy was going on in here, he was sure of it and the unmistakable feeling deep in his gut was telling him to continue forward, and find out what this was all about.

As he closed in slowly, he began to distinguish the shapes up ahead. There were two figures, one was taller and the other one was small and slight. Guessing by their physical distinctiveness, one was male and the other one was definitely female. The guy was carrying the girl in his arms, and he was shirtless, much to his initial shock and confusion. Upon closer inspection, he perceived that the girl was out cold, unconscious. He recognized the medical shelves on the east side of the wall. _So they're in the infirmary,_ he thought.

Getting closer again, he noticed the male had black hair that revealed a shade of navy blue whenever it caught the fluorescent lights. His hair spiked up at the back and he had long bangs hanging by the sides of his face. Whoa, back up for a second there – dark blue almost black hair spiked up at the back? He was sure he knew who that was. Then it clicked,

_It's Sasuke!_

Then frantically eager to identify the other person, the girl, he squinted, and squint hard he did.

Sure, he was color blind and all but he still knew that color, it was most definitely _pink_. _**(A/N: I heard from somewhere that dogs **__**are**__** color blind. Let's apply this situation with Kiba since he has identity crisis issues.) **_

He saw Sasuke gently lay Sakura down on the bed.

_Oh my freaking god,_ he thought. What _are Sasuke and Sakura doing here this late at night?_

With his curiosity reaching its peak, he continued forward with insistent long strides.

Before he could take another step after his second one, his right leg stepped on a twig and it snapped, _loudly_.

A second after, Sasuke's head whipped around, his long bangs touching his cheeks.

Freezing in place, he held his breath. He felt weirdly nervous; his heart was hammering in his chest. Sasuke was glaring through the paneled window of the infirmary. Good thing it was pretty dark, his only aid, the silvery light of the moon, was eclipsed by the thick clouds high above in the sky. As Sasuke squinted through the darkness harder, Kiba counted through the beats of his frantic heart. Twelve beats later, Sasuke's expression neutralized and then he swiveled his head back to the unconscious occupant of the bed.

Releasing a big gusty sigh of relief, he decided his heart had enough action for the night. Besides, he was looking for his dog anyway, and whatever Sasuke and Sakura were doing here was none of his business. Though it really tickled his curiosity, but somehow, he could never quite forget the quote 'curiosity killed the cat'. He was a dog-type of person and all but he guessed the same applied to him. He'd get pummeled to kibble by Sasuke if he was caught spying.

Backing up slowly, he thought of the places where he could possibly find his still missing dog.

* * *

_**A/N: So, whaddya guys think? Tell me on your reviews so I'll have an idea whether its getting boring, too short/too long, or if it just sucks. I wanna know what you think so that I can improve myself. After all, this story is for you, my beloved readers. :)**_

**_By the by, ADVANCED MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF US!_**

**_'mmkay. I'm out. Gotta munch on the chocolates before my glutton of a lil brother gets to them first. ^^, Bye!_**


	16. AUTHORESS' NOTE: REPOST!

**For the latest readers who haven'tread this yet...**

* * *

Uh, Yeah. Before you guy's have a heart attack at trying to guess why I'm apologizing...

.

.

.

**NO, I AM **_**NOT **_**GOING TO DISCONTINUE THIS STORY. **

.

.

.

I'll just announce a few _major _revisions in the story's plot, 'kay? You can breathe normally now. :)

Sigh, how to start? Ugh, here goes...

I've been getting a couple of questions about:

1. _Why is the story all about the flashbacks, so far?_

or

2. _When the hell are we going to proceed to the part about the actress Sakura doing a movie with hot actor Sasuke? I mean, that's what was in the summary, right? _

I know some of you are currently really pissed off at me. And I'm really sorry if that's the case. I know it's stupid of me to change the story's plot, but I didn't mean for that to happen. And I know that according to the summary, Sakura would refuse to do a movie with Sasuke, so she tries to convince her manager, Ino, to cancel the certain project.

So no need to rub it in my face that the story is getting quite out of hand from the summary. I'm quite aware that all the chapters up until now are just the flashbacks of Sakura and Sasuke's high school life. And frankly speaking, I'm not done with the flashbacks yet. I'm just halfway.

If you want to know the real reason why the story got out of hand, here is it: (though some of you may already know the reason since I already posted this one on a previous chapter. I don't remember which one.)

- I never thought this story would receive many reviews and feedbacks, especially compliments and pleads to continue this story. I was just horsing around when I wrote the first chapter.

- The plot and every detail of this story was all just a part of our, me and my bestie's_ (Hi Yel!)_ stupid conversations during class at school. Obviously, we had nothing better to do but just talk about SasuSaku.

- When I continued writing the story, I never had much idea how it'll end up or how I'll make things work right and fit the puzzle pieces perfectly. I was just writing anything that comes into mind or anything according to my mood. So, yeah, I was definitely in a_ let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may_ mode when I was writing the story.

- So, naturally, I wasn't able to handle the situation and I had to make a crucial decision:

I decided that I would just change the summary for this story. Then, the summary I used for this story would be the plot for the sequel of this story. Get it?

So basically, I'll just revise the summary of 'Falling In Love With A Heartbreaker Was Stupid'. Then, the summary of the sequel for this story will actually be the first summary of this story. Bah ! Whatever ! I can't even understand what I'm saying. Ugh, I just hope you guys did.

Bye! If you have some questions, you can just PM me or send me a review about your concerns, 'kay? That's all. I'm out, peepz. :)

Oh, another thing before I go, I'll promise you guys one more thing.

**I swear on the grave of my ancestor's ancestors that I'll do my best to keep my head straight and the story in line with the actual plot so that something like this wouldn't happen **_**ever **_**again.**


	17. Chapter 16: Hot And Fevered

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_Freezing in place, he held his breath. He felt weirdly nervous; his heart was hammering in his chest. Sasuke was glaring through the paneled window of the infirmary. Good thing it was pretty dark, his only aid, the silvery light of the moon, was eclipsed by the thick clouds high above the sky. As Sasuke squinted through the darkness harder, Kiba counted through the beats of his frantic heart. Twelve beats later, Sasuke's expression neutralized and then swiveled his head back to the unconscious occupant on the bed._

_Releasing a big gusty sigh of relief, he decided his heart had enough action for the night. Besides, he was looking for his dog anyway, and whatever Sasuke and Sakura were doing here was none of his business. Though it really tickled his curiosity, but somehow, he could never quite forget the quote 'curiosity killed the cat'. He was a dog-type of person and all, but he guessed the same applied to him. He'd get pummeled to kibbles by Sasuke if he was caught spying._

_Backing up slowly, he thought of the places where he could possibly find his still missing dog._

* * *

Sakura awoke slowly, feeling delirious and disoriented. Then, she felt a cool hand place itself across her forehead.

"Sakura,"

Squinting against the glare of the fluorescent lights, she allowed her eyes to focus. It was Sasuke leaning over her, looking indifferent, but she recognized the hint of worry beneath his dark orbs.

_What happened? _Sakura wondered.

She realized she was lying on a bed, the school's infirmary's bed. Then, thoughts came back to her like pictures flashing behind her lids.

Blushing despite herself, she sat up quickly, almost banging their heads together and managing to make her previously throbbing headache get worse. it was creating a pounding ache in her head that it felt like somebody was drilling holes in it with a screwdriver.

"A–anou, Uchiha-san…" She stammered. It was hard to focus her vision, gray spots continued to invade her vision, much less form a coherent thought to try and explain what happened without embarrassing herself.

"It's fine, just rest and wait for me here." He interrupted her lame excuse of reasoning skills. Then, the door closed with a _click_.

Sakura stared at the door in confusion.

It was fine? _It was fine?_ Hell, it was definitely not fine, not fine _at all_. She couldn't even believe that happened. Sure, she knew the expression _swooning after a guy_, but she never expected it to happen to her _literally_. She wanted to bang herself repeatedly on the white walls of the infirmary for making a total idiot of herself (not that it would help her throbbing head so much), but at least now she knew why she was having this migraine. Spending four hours staring at a computer screen while furiously typing her thesis, and then getting soaked by freezing cold water, wasn't such a good combination.

Sakura lay down on the bed, now realizing that she was wet too. Her whole upper body was soaked, good thing she always wore a camisole under their school blouse. Ignoring all those inconsequential things, she forced herself to calm down and blank her mind. Thinking about Sasuke made her head (and heart, though she'd never admit it, even to herself) pound stronger. She'd have more time to think about that later on, when her head wasn't feeling so heavy.

A minute after closing her eyes, she heard the door open. She swung her head slowly to the side, avoiding jostling her head too much. Her vision was sideways but she recognized the person as Sasuke. He was now wearing his school uniform, but the top three buttons of the polo were unbuttoned, again. A dark blue towel was lying on his right shoulder, and his hair was still wet. The spikes at the back dragged down on the weight of the water, she noticed vaguely.

He sauntered toward her on the bed gently laying a palm on her forehead again. Sakura was much too distracted by the pain in her head to blush. Sasuke's hand felt cold on her forehead. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth against the throbbing in her head.

"Sakura, can you hear me?" She heard Sasuke ask beside her.

"Hmmm…" She hummed back, unable to form a more coherent reply. She just wanted to sleep, at least it seemed to get the point across, that she could hear him.

"You have to change, Sakura, you have a fever," Sasuke said, a hint of anxiety creeping into his voice.

_He must be referring to my drenched blouse_. Sakura thought numbly.

Hearing the urgency in Sasuke's voice, she struggled to get up into a sitting position, but the pounding in her head became stronger, and she was surprised at how drained she felt. Sakura frowned, she couldn't even manage to get up on her own. Feeling two hands on both of her shoulders, Sasuke supported her body as he hoisted her to sit on the edge of the bed.

Sakura's mind felt fuzzy and her limbs felt boneless. Her head lolled onto Sasuke's arm involuntarily as Sasuke fumbled in his bag for something that Sakura could change into. All he found was his basketball jersey.

The feverish pink-haired girl was just on the brink of sleep when she felt two arms on her shoulders again and heard Sasuke's insistent voice,

"Sakura? You have to change your clothes, here."

She felt some sort of fabric pushed onto her lap. Sakura clutched what she now recognized as a red jersey with a number _07_ on it and Sasuke's surname, _Uchiha_, in all caps above the number. Following the Uchiha's order, she braced herself and stood up on wobbly legs.

Only to stagger forward as she felt her knees give way.

Before she could crash to the ground, she heard Sasuke's brief exclamation of "Hey!" before she felt two arms snaking around her waist, steadying her against Sasuke's chest. Then the two arms unwound from her waist, and instead supported her on her shoulders. She leaned on Sasuke heavily, feeling weak and disoriented.

Leading her to the corner of the room, where the door to the infirmary's small bathroom was, Sasuke supported most of her weight with his arms.

"Sakura? Can you manage from here?" Sasuke asked uncertainly. Seeing earlier how Sakura couldn't even sit up in bed, it was more improbable that she could walk inside the bathroom and change her clothes.

_Not that I could help her with that_, Sasuke thought hastily.

Sakura heard his question clearly, comfortably leaned onto his chest as she was. She felt his chest rumble against her cheek every time he said a word.

Making up her mind to at least manage on her own from here on out, she nodded resolutely against his chest. She had caused him enough trouble. Sakura shook herself awake mentally and then readied herself to take the step. Gritting her teeth against the waves of dizziness trying to conquer her, she leaned away from Sasuke and took a step forward.

It took a lot of concentration on Sakura's part to stay upright throughout the short distance to the bathroom. At the last step, she almost face-planted on the door but thankfully, she caught herself before the inevitable could happen.

"I'm okay." She tried to make herself sound loud and like she was actually fine, but the words were almost a whisper and she realized she was panting at the effort it took to just take a couple of steps.

She entered the small lavatory and closed the door. Settling herself on the closed lid of the toilet, she breathed in and out for a few seconds, trying to gather more will to fight the disorienting lightheadedness.

Finally, she was able to remove her wet school blouse. It kept clinging to her skin, which mildly annoyed the fevered girl. Left in her white thin camisole, she debated whether she should stay in it and just place Sasuke's jersey on top of it. But then, what was the point of removing her blouse if she was going to continue wearing the wet camisole? Besides, Sasuke's jersey had sleeves, not the sleeveless ones Sakura loathed. Finally decided, she shrugged off the flimsy thing and tossed it to where she laid her blouse.

Now left in her lime green lacy bra, she snagged the jersey and put it on. Expectedly, it was too large for her. She turned around and faced the mirror above the faucet. She looked disheveled and frenzied as her hair resembled a pink bird's nest, and her shamrock eyes became glazedwhile her cheeks had a rose tint due to her fever.

The red jersey from Sasuke was too big and too long for her. The sleeves reached her elbows while the hem of the shirt only left an inch or two of Sakura's skirt visible. The image the mirror showed Sakura gave her a feeling of déjà vu. It was too reminiscent of the time she wore Sasuke's gray cotton shirt. Shaking from her head the not-so-pleasant events that happened after that incident, she picked up her discarded clothes and turned to the door.

Still feeling woozy, she stepped out cautiously. Sasuke was staring at the floor impassively while leaning by the wall beside the door. Hearing the door open, he turned towards her.

And their eyes met.

Time seemed to hang, suspended between them. Sakura was sure their thoughts were on the same page. This scene was almost like a rerun from what happened last week, and Sakura thought distantly that today was Friday too, exactly a week from 'the incident'. Every time Sasuke saved her from being harassed and bullied, whether it was from intoxicated perverts or crazed fan girls, she would end up wearing his clothes. Sakura wondered if it was a tradition in the making. She hoped not, or it would get very complicated between them.

_Not that it isn't complicated already_, Sakura thought despairingly.

Unexpectedly, Sakura was the first to break contact as she felt a huge wave of vertigo overtake her. Sasuke caught her before she crumpled to the floor, and hauled her into his arms and carry her to the bed.

Now, Sakura wasn't able to contain the blush that spread across her cheeks. Good thing her fever provided great cover.

Sasuke laid the girl on the bed gently. Then, he reached out for something on the bedside table. It was glass of water and a pill of medicine.

"Here, drink this," He said, handing giving her the items he was holding.

_**

* * *

A/N: Tsk, tsk. That's some serious fever, Sakura-chan. So sorry I had to cut the scene short. It just seemed too long for just one chapter to finish the whole 'Sasuke taking care of a fevered Sakura' scene. :D It isn't much of a cliffy so I hope you won't be pissed too much about it.**_

_**I wish you guys liked this chapter since the previous one didn't get as much reviews as I hoped. In fact, I seemed to have lost a fair number of my reviewers because of that filler-ish chapter. I'm so sorry if I disappointed you guys! T_T I was just trying out what it would feel like to narrate the story in another person's perspective aside from the main characters'. And unfortunately, it seems that I have failed (epically) in that department. -_-'**_

_**Tell me what you think about this chapter on your reviews. Or you could also tell me the parts I need to improve on or anything at all concerning this fic. I'd be happy to entertain your questions or listen to advices. :) Well then, Ittekimasu!**_


	18. Chapter 17: The Deal Has Been Made

_**A/N: Hmm.. Hey, you guys. I'm back for another update. :) Isn't that great? *claps happily to self***_

_**Anyways, here is the next chapter. I apologize this isn't much longer than the previous one but as a compensation, this chapter contains one of the most important decisions that Sakura make as her bond with Sasuke balances on the edge of a sword. **_

_**Nah, that last part was too dramatic. But it's true. This chapter is a very important one. So, I hope you guys wouldn't be too un-entertained by my story to leave me a teeny-tiny review to lift my writing spirit and invite plot bunnies back to my head.**_

_**Hey, just a (very nonrelated) question: Have you guys experienced having to know that some guy hates you (he even called me a nerd freak. Ouch.)? And then realize months later that he has a thing for you? How did you guys cope with that? I mean, I can barely look at him now. -_-' Ugh, I'm so thrown off balance by that shocking revelation. **_

_**Oh, for those who don't have any time to waste with my personal issues, go on with the story. Enjoy!**_

**_Just a heads-up: The first part of the chap will be on Sasuke's POV while the rest is Sakura's. BTW, this chap is un-beta-ed. I apologize for any errors._**

_

* * *

PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_The red jersey from Sasuke was too big and too long for her. The sleeves reached her elbows while the hem of the shirt only left an inch or two of Sakura's skirt visible. The image the mirror showed Sakura gave her a feeling of déjà vu. It was too reminiscent of the time she wore Sasuke's gray cotton shirt. Shaking from her head the not-so-pleasant events that happened after that incident, she picked up her discarded clothes and turned to the door._

_Still feeling woozy, she stepped out cautiously. Sasuke was staring at the floor impassively while leaning by the wall beside the door. Hearing the door open, he turned towards her._

_And their eyes met._

_Time seemed to hang suspended between them. Sakura was sure their thoughts were on the same page. This scene was almost like a rerun from what happened last week, and Sakura thought distantly that today was Friday too, exactly a week from 'the incident'. Every time Sasuke saved her from being harassed and bullied, whether it was from intoxicated perverts or crazed fan girls, she would end up wearing his clothes. Sakura wondered if it was a tradition in the making. She hoped not, or it would get very complicated between them._

Not that it wasn't complicated already_, Sakura thought despairingly._

_Unexpectedly, Sakura was the first to break contact as she felt a huge wave of vertigo overtake her. Sasuke caught her before she crumpled to the floor, and hauled her into his arms and carry her to the bed._

_Now, Sakura wasn't able to contain the blush that spread across her cheeks. Good thing her fever provided great cover._

_Sasuke laid the girl on the bed gently. Then, he reached out for something on the bedside table. It was glass of water and a pill of medicine._

_"Here, drink this." He said, handing giving her the items he was holding._

* * *

Sasuke held out to her the glass of water and the medicine. He watched, unable to squash the feeling of being _anxious_ for the frail girl in front of him. It was ridiculous.

Sakura sat up slowly to her elbows from her lying position on the bed. She was grimacing, as if the action took a lot of effort to carry out. He gave her the glass of water. Much to his chagrin, the brief moment it took for her to take the glass from him, her hands grazed his fingers enclosed around the glass. And it shocked him how hot she was.

_It shocked him how hot _her temperature_ was_. He corrected the thought quickly.

The worry he had for the girl overrode the annoying feeling of the tingly sensation whenever their hands would touch. She was still burning up! Damn that Ayaka, and her cronies.

Sakura stuck the pill between her lips pinching them together. Then, scrunching her face, she swiftly swallowed the blue pill down through her throat. Not a moment later, she gulped down the water in long gulps to wash away the bitter taste of the med.

She looked adorable all scrunched up like that, Sasuke thought distractedly.

Wait – what? Sasuke shook his head, ignoring the last comment he made in his head.

Inconspicuously shaking his head to banish the 'evil' thoughts away, he took the glass from Sakura and told her to lie down and rest.

The girl complied, looking only half-awake with her droopy eyes matched with the red tinge staining her cheeks because of her high fever. Sasuke knew all Sakura needed was to sleep and rest and her fever would most probably gone by tomorrow morning.

_Ah, this was going to be a very long night._

* * *

I woke up, feeling sweaty, stiff, and grumpy. I opened my eyes and felt a gentle weight on my forehead. I tried to move my right hand to yank the thing away but I realized something warm was in my hand. And it was another hand, a calloused but very warm hand.

I looked more closely and recognized the shock of dark spiky hair. Then, everything rushed back to me, all that happened last night.

It was frustrating how stupid and clueless I can be whenever I woke up. To forget the things that happened was inexcusable.

I've caused enough trouble for Sasuke already. And besides that, I think he'd detest me now that he caught me ogling at him, not that I'm sure he haven't caught me in the other times I stared at him. I'm sure he thinks I'm no different as his obsessive fangirls.

_He must be very tired from taking care of me_, I thought. Sitting up, I absently stroked his dark hair as I thought back to the time when I first saw him. It was during the start of middle school. Students were strolling casually to the auditorium for the introductory greeting of the school's headmaster, Tsunade, the granddaughter of the school's first headmaster. As I was walking briskly with my first friend in the school, the timid Hinata Hyuuga, I saw _them_.

The group of boys walking behind us was parting the crowd of students like Moses parting the Red Sea.

Shino Aburame, looking mysterious and secretive, he had black sunglasses on and the collar of his coat was up, hiding the view of his chin and continuing downwards.

Kiba Inuzuka, with his tousled brown hair seemed slightly sleepy but wary as I saw him fumble with his messenger bag. I saw a glimpse of white fur, was it a puppy?

Rock Lee, energetic and hyper, his oily black hair slicked like a bowl on his head, was thoroughly stretching his shoulders and arms.

Shikamaru Nara, sloth-like and lethargic, was rubbing his eyes thoroughly and yawning every so often as his feet dragged on, most likely unwilling to go to school this early.

Neji Hyuuga, looking as stoic and composed as ever, was sauntering confidently with an air of his usual quiet grace. His eyes were straight ahead as he ignored the squeals of their over-enthusiastic fangirls.

Naruto Uzumaki was grinning widely, as he usually does. It was hard to believe he already has a fan club this early in school. Apparently, other girls find his dumb cluelessness endearing. Sakura shook her head ruefully, and caught a glimpse of a pink Hinata. Wait, don't tell me…

And finally…

The Sasuke Uchiha, with those deep but unemotional pair of black orbs and a stance that exuded grace with a hint of arrogance. He was strolling forward with his hands in his pockets. His jacket was unbuttoned and around his shoulders.

Sakura clearly remembered how that unusual bunch of teenage boys caught everyone's interest, admittedly even hers. By then, she had no clue why, but now she knew why she was. They possessed charisma and were truly intriguing. _At least one was_… a voice in the recesses of her mind amended.

Lost in her deep train of thoughts, she barely noticed the stirring awake Sasuke.

Sakura, preoccupied with her flashback memories, was jolted back down to earth with a very conspicuous cough from no other than Sasuke.

Squeaking, I snatched my hand away. Sasuke straightened up in his chair and I felt his scorching gaze appraising me. Finally, gathering my wits, I mumbled, "Sorry." Darn it, Sakura why do you always have to be caught by him? He was trying to help me and this is what he gets. Sigh, this was getting worse by the minute. I never intended to make him regret ever helping me.

I looked up at him, getting ready for the loathing and disgust that I would clearly see in his black eyes. But he was only staring at me with those eyes filled with nothing but apathy. Confused, I continued staring a second longer, sure that the abhorrence part would come soon enough. At my undisguised staring, one of his curved black eyebrow arched in silent question. I flushed, not expecting him to remain calm about the obvious displays of adoration (more like fan-girlishness, but that's beside the point) I've been showing him.

A look of alarm swiftly flashed over his eyes. And he asked me, "Are you alright, Sakura?" And then he leaned forward, making our foreheads touch. Getting highly flustered by the proximity between us, I scooted backwards, making my back lean against the metal headboard of the bed. At that moment, I wasn't sure what the purpose was for the sudden need of physical contact between us, but the gears in my head finally creaked into motion. "I-Im fine, Uchiha-san."

Nodding he straightened and stood up. I fidgeted with the hem of the blanket, thinking of how I should thank him for all the help he's given me. Stretching his arms, he said, "You can call me Sasuke." Perplexed, I mumbled, "Huh?"

He bent over, looking for something inside his bag and answered, "Since everybody thinks that there's something between us, why don't we just give them what they want? Besides, it'll be beneficial for both of us, right? You won't be bothered by my fans anymore since they won't try messing with my girl, and I won't get pestered by those love letters and confessions every week since they'll be thinking that I'm already taken." He took a swig at the sports bottle he's just retrieved in his bag. And then, spoke again, "So, what do you think?"

Bewildered by this outrageous idea of his, I sat there staring. Somehow, it just might work, no matter how far-fetched the idea may be. Making my muscles in jaw unfreeze from the stiff posture they had, I answered. "But… but won't someone get mad by this plan of yours, Uchiha – I mean, Sasuke-san? Your true girlfriend, perhaps?"

He waved my concern away, saying. "There's no one in this planet like that. How about you?" He asked offhandedly. I ignored the way my heart fluttered at the mention of his 'untaken state'. It was almost unbelievable he was still single; surely somebody with the looks and background like his could find a model or possibly a small-country princess as a girlfriend.

I shook my head and looked at him, "There's no one for me like that, too, Sasuke-san."

Maybe it was a trick of the light, but I swear I saw his eyes widen a fraction. "So, you're okay with it?" He asked, his dark eyes on me. I locked gazes with him, feeling suddenly euphoric and confident, I responded, "Yes."

As I voiced this life-changing decision of mine, a small portion of my mind, the rational one, hoped that I wasn't setting myself up for disappointment.

_**

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A/N: So how was it? I told ya the story is starting to work on a major plot I guess I'm still going too slow since this is already the 17**__**th**__** chapter. Ugh, guess I need to work on the priorities.**_

_**PLEASE IF YOU'RE FEELING VERY NICE AND NOT MEAN, SEND ME A REVIEW! :) **_

_**[not that unreviewing readers are mean.] **_


	19. Chapter 18: The Gallant And The Idiot

_**A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back from my very loong absence. I would've wanted to explain myself but I know it'd take too long. Plus, I bet you don't care about my lousy explanation and just want to continue reading the story so, here you go. Please enjoy the long awaited next chapter.**_

_**Oh, by the bye, this chapter is totally NOT BETA-ED! So, I apologize for any mistake you may find down there.  
**_

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_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

"_Since everybody thinks that there's something between us, why don't we just give them what they want? Besides, it'll be beneficial for both of us, right? You won't be bothered by my fans anymore since they won't try messing with my girl, and I won't get pestered by those love letters and confessions every week since they'll be thinking that I'm already taken." He took a swig at the sports bottle he's just retrieved in his bag. And then, spoke again, "So, what do you think?"_

_Bewildered by this outrageous idea of his, I sat there staring. Somehow, it just might work, no matter how far-fetched the idea may be. Making my muscles in jaw unfreeze from the stiff posture they had, I answered. "But… but won't someone get mad by this plan of yours, Uchiha – I mean, Sasuke-san? Your true girlfriend, perhaps?"_

_He waved my concern away, saying. "There's no one in this planet like that. How about you?" He asked offhandedly. I ignored the way my heart fluttered at the mention of his 'untaken state'. It was almost unbelievable he was still single; surely somebody with the looks and background like his could find a model or possibly a small-country princess as a girlfriend._

_I shook my head and looked at him, "There's no one for me like that, too, Sasuke-san."_

_Maybe it was a trick of the light, but I swear I saw his eyes widen a fraction. "So, you're okay with it?" He asked, his dark eyes on me. I locked gazes with him, feeling suddenly euphoric and confident, I responded, "Yes."_

_As I voiced this life-changing decision of mine, a small portion of my mind, the rational one, hoped that I wasn't setting myself up for disappointment._

* * *

It was a sunny and bright Monday morning.

An alarm clock buzzed and a pink-haired girl half-buried in the mound of blankets groaned in displeasure. Sakura reached out her arm and groped blindly on her bedside table for the annoying thing. Finally getting hold of it, she slammed the snooze button off.

As the golden rays of the sun penetrated the spaces between her blinds, she rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat up on her tousled bed. However, a thought woke her up from her sleepy stupor like a bucket of ice cold water on her bare back.

Today is the day the two of them, Sasuke and herself, would start their "fake" relationship.

At that refreshing – or maybe not – thought, Sakura sprang up from her bed. She had to get ready now. Going through her daily morning routine, Sakura was wondering incessantly on how she was going to act from now on. And as much as she hated to admit it, the thought of being in a relationship with Sasuke, no matter how counterfeit, was making her heart beat twice as fast as normal. And that wasn't a good sign. Everything between them had to be casual, no strings attached. Since basically, they were just using each other for their own benefit. If Sakura can't manage that, then she was putting herself – and her heart – in an unpleasant situation.

Shaking that depressing thought away, she prepared her bento in record time. With no more time to spare for a proper breakfast meal, Sakura grabbed a granola bar from the cupboard in their kitchen and hurried off to put her shoes on. As soon as she was done, Sakura went out her apartment's door and locked it. Walking on, she checked the time on her wrist watch and opened the granola bar with her teeth; oblivious to the fact that somebody was waiting for her just outside the gate.

Just as she was out the gate, the figure leaning casually against the side of the gate straightened up and ambled silently to her. Sakura almost failed to notice him if not for his unmistakable grunt, "Hn."

Eyes wide and teeth still clamped down on the granola bar she was munching on, Sakura saw her "fake" boyfriend in front of her. Uchiha Sasuke.

"What – what are you doing here, Sasuke-san?" She asked, bewildered.

Left hand in his pocket and right hand holding the bag slung over his right shoulder, Sasuke raised one black eyebrow. "Picking you up for school, of course." He spoke matter-of-factly, as if it was painfully obvious.

_Oh_. Right. A decent boyfriend should at least go to school with his girlfriend, right? Sakura never expected this kind of situation to pop up; that she was supposed to put any kind of effort for their fake relationship. And embarrassingly, Sasuke was doing a better job than her. She hadn't even thought of making a bento for him. _Crap_.

"Um – yeah. Of course." She wondered a bit if she sounded as idiotic as she felt.

Then, Sasuke held out his other hand. Looking at it inquiringly, she gave Sasuke questioning eyes.

"Your bag," He said quite succinctly.

Oh. Two points for gallant Sasuke and zero for stupid Sakura, her mind announced sarcastically. With a nod, she handed her bag to Sasuke and they began the walk to school.

She expected the walk to be silent and awkward. Sakura found out that she was half-right, after all. The short walk to school with Sasuke was silent but definitely not awkward. Sakura already knew that Sasuke preferred peaceful quietude than mindless babble. And Sakura was okay with that.

When the gates of the school loomed closer and they were now walking with some of the students, Sakura began to hear the start of the whispers.

"Hey, hey, is that really Sasuke-kun? Why's he with Haruno-san?"

"Are those two dating?"

Sakura never did like being gossiped about but she knew she had to deal with them now that she was in a relationship with the most sought-after guy of Konoha Academy. Turning a deaf ear to the tittle-tattle circulating around them, she continued the walk to school.

Knowing that Sasuke had to hear the gossips too, she glanced up at him. But, he remained impassive as ever, as though it didn't bother him in the least. Guess being talked about by the whole school every single day makes you immune to them, Sakura thought.

When they reached the hallways of the school, Sakura expected Sasuke to hand her bag back to her since they didn't have the same first subject for the day. She looked up at him. However, he refused to give the bag to her and said, "I'll take you to your classroom," and walked ahead of her. Puckering her brows, Sakura followed after Sasuke. There was no stopping him when he wanted to do something, Sakura figured.

And she also thought that Sasuke was being very good at carrying out their "roles" as boyfriend and girlfriend; while she was extraordinarily failing compared to him. Sakura figured she'd have to at least put in extra effort to even up the score. She can't let Sasuke do all the work when she was the one that got the both of them in this compromising position in the first place.

When the both of them reached the second floor and the third door to the left, they stood by the doorway, paying no attention to all the stares directed at them. Sakura vaguely realized that she was getting better at ignoring the people around them when she was looking at Sasuke.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Sasuke-san," Sakura said, tucking a lock of pink hair behind her shapely ear, a habit she usually does when she was nervous. Sakura saw something flash across his eyes briefly, and he gave her that lopsided smirk, and then held out her bag to her. Confused but deciding to let that one slide (perhaps he just remembered something amusing or anything of that sort), she grasped the handle of the bag firmly, ready to take the bag from him.

But she never predicted that, instead of loosening his grip and effectively handing the thing back to her, he clasped it in his hand more firmly and then sharply tugged at it; causing the slighter one, Sakura, to lose her balance and stumble onto him. Expectedly, he heard a sharp gasp escape her parted lips. He smirked and wrapped his unoccupied arm, the left one, around her waist, successfully having her trapped between the circle of his strong arms. He could feel the thundering of her heart like a bullet train going a hundred miles per hour against his chest, and he chuckled briefly.

Then, he leaned forward until his mouth was by her ear. He noticed by the edge of his vision that her cheeks and ears were tinged with pink, and he absolutely loved the effect he had on her. Pressing her more fully against him, he whispered, "You should stop calling me 'Sasuke-san', Sakura. It's annoying. Just call me Sasuke… -kun."

At that, Sasuke immediately let her go. He stalked off to his respective class, waving at her without looking back.

Sakura was finding it difficult to stand on wobbly feet and jellified legs. Hand on her chest; she could feel her heartbeat pound. She could feel the heat caused by excessive amount of blood in her face as she remembered how it felt to be trapped in the security of his arms, and how it felt to have him so, so near that she felt his breath against the skin of her cheek.

She realized just then that she was standing stupidly at her classroom's doorway and that her classmates were staring incredulously at her, as if she were sprouting another limb on top of her head. Before their probable outbursts of exclamations and inquiries, the warning bell tolled for the morning and the students of Class 3-A scrambled off to their seats.

Sakura heaved a sigh of relief and then scuffled off to her seat before her homeroom teacher could scold her about being late despite being the student council president of the school.

Time passed quickly, with Sakura distracted with thoughts of how she was going to make all of this work out despite being inexperienced about these kinds of things. Everything she knew about dating was from movies, TV dramas, and books. Absolutely no personal experience. Finally, at the end of the last subject before lunch, Sakura just decided that she'd just do her best and act as natural as she can. There was no point in worrying about things that can't be helped, she decided.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the subject and the start of lunch break. As the students filed out, Sakura stood up from her chair, and was called by Gai-sensei to discuss something about their educational film viewing last week.

* * *

_**A/N: So? How was it? I know it was kinda weird to end the chapter that way but I was running out of ideas on how to end it so I just kind of cut it where I felt like I should cut it. For my way of penance for being gone for so long, I'm planning to update another chapter, an un-beta-ed one again I'd bet (my beta seems kind of rather busy), in three days.**_

_**Thank you for reading and I'm looking forward to your reviews! Bye! =)**_


	20. Chapter 19: Sharing Is Caring

_**A/N: Helloo! I'm back again and here's the promised next chapter. I hope I can continue this routine of updating on time. Unluckily, this chapter is un-beta-ed, too. So, i apologize for any mistakes.**_

_**Thank you for reading my story this far!  
**_

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_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

"_Thanks for bringing me here, Sasuke-san," Sakura said, tucking a lock of pink hair behind her shapely ear, a habit she usually does when she was nervous. Sakura saw something flash across his eyes briefly, and he gave her that lopsided smirk, and then held out her bag to her. Confused but deciding to let that one slide (perhaps he just remembered something amusing or anything of that sort), she grasped the handle of the bag firmly, ready to take the bag from him._

_But she never predicted that, instead of loosening his grip and effectively handing the thing back to her, he clasped it in his hand more firmly and then sharply tugged at it; causing the slighter one, Sakura, to lose her balance and stumble onto him. Expectedly, he heard a sharp gasp escape her parted lips. He smirked and wrapped his unoccupied arm, the left one, around her waist, successfully having her trapped between the circle of his strong arms. He could feel the thundering of her heart like a bullet train going a hundred miles per hour against his chest, and he chuckled briefly. _

_Then, he leaned forward until his mouth was by her ear. He noticed by the edge of his vision that her cheeks and ears were tinged with pink, and he absolutely loved the effect he had on her. Pressing her more fully against him, he whispered, "You should stop calling me 'Sasuke-san', Sakura. It's annoying. Just call me Sasuke… -kun."_

* * *

Finally done talking with Gai-sensei, her music teacher, she said her goodbyes and walked off. Sakura sighed as she opened the door and walked out. Seriously, as if being the student council president of the school wasn't hard enough, she was also class 3-A's class president. They figured if she could handle the whole school, then taking responsibility of a single class should be a piece of cake for her. Not that that was true. She didn't particularly hate the job, but sometimes she just wished she could take a break from the responsibility of it all. She felt like the weight of all the responsibilities she had to manage was crushing her shoulders. She sighed again.

"What took you so long?" A deep voice asked. She stared. Sasuke was there, leaning against the wall beside the door of the classroom. Regaining her composure, she stammered, "Er… um, Gai-sensei wanted to know… something." She answered lamely.

They trudged off to the school's cafeteria but not without enduring the stares of the student populace. Sakura easily ignored the unabashed gawking since she was preoccupied with more pressing thoughts. She still hadn't made a conscious effort in showing her 'affections' for Sasuke. And apparently, making a bento for your boyfriend was a must in these cases.

With no other choice, she figured they could just share her own packed lunch. Her bento could possibly considered acceptable for two people since it wasn't as minuscule as those compared to the other bentos prepared by other female students (she wasn't following any diet). It was embarrassing to think that the male partner was being more affectionate compared to the female when it should've been the other way around. She sighed with a heavy heart.

They reached the cafeteria in no time. More stares followed but Sakura was getting unusually good at ignoring them. As they were looking for an empty table, she heard a voice call out Sasuke's name. It was Uzumaki Naruto. They were inviting Sasuke to sit over by their table. Sakura felt a strange disappointment at that, which was wrong. She should've felt relieved because she wouldn't have to worry about the bento issue anymore.

Looking over to Sasuke to tell him that it was fine and he should go sit by his friends like always, she saw him look at Naruto and shake his head and mouth _'sorry' _before turning back to her and taking her hand. He led the both of them away, but before turning around, she caught a glimpse of his group of friends frowning in confusion before their expressions shifted into something resembling a mischievous grin as they followed their departure with curious stares.

They found a vacant table by the back corner portion of the packed cafeteria. She took out the packed lunch she planned to share for the both of them to eat, belatedly realizing she only had one pair of chopsticks to use. Sakura wasn't sure if she was supposed to feel triumphant now that this incident looked like an effort of showing her deep appreciation for her boyfriend, or feel horrified at the realization that she had to share not only the lunch she had prepared, but also the utensil they both have to use. She felt her cheeks warm at the thought of having something that Sasuke's mouth touched also touch her lips. It was as indirect as indirect kisses could be.

She felt Sasuke's gaze on her and she fought hard to maintain her earlier composure. Despite her inner pep talk, she was really nervous about this. Not only did she not know how to handle these things, she also felt like it was an absolute recipe for an upcoming disaster. Shrugging those ominous thoughts away, she concentrated on the task at hand, feeding her boyfriend, Sasuke Uchiha.

She saw her her hand tremble slightly as she picked up a piece of tamagoyaki for Sasuke to eat, it fell down unceremoniously. Frowning, she tried to pick it up again. Sasuke, noticing her nervousness about it finally intervened.

"Sakura? Are you all right? I can feed myself, you know." He said, trying to take the pair of chopsticks away from the girl. She held it away from him. "It's fine, Uchiha-san. I know I'm no good at this but a proper girlfriend must at least know how to feed her boyfriend." She said determinedly.

Sasuke, surprised but glad about her determination, let her be and waited patiently. He was sure this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing was troubling Sakura. Sasuke was almost absolutely sure that the hardworking student council had never had any intimate relationship with the opposite sex, so it was only acceptable that she was just learning how to act like a decent girlfriend.

Sakura was having a bit of a trouble with the elusive piece of tamagoyaki she was trying to pick up with her chopsticks since her stupid hand won't stop shaking. Frowning, she tried again and finally, she succeeded. She stretched out her hand for Sasuke to eat but since the table was a bit too wide and they were sitting opposite from each other, Sakura had to lean forward a little to reach Sasuke. Turning her gaze to Sasuke, she was a bit surprised to see the intensity of his gaze on her face. It made her falter.

Her heart skipping a beat, she accidentally miscalculated the direction of her hand that was trying to feed Sasuke and the piece of tamagoyaki touched the side of his mouth. Gasping, she picked up a napkin, stood up and leaned over Sasuke, wiping on the side of his mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Uchiha-san." Sakura apologized and bit her lip in embarrassment. She looked up at him and he saw he staring at her face, especially her lips. Was there something on her face? "Uchiha-san?" Her voice looked like it broke him from his trance. His gaze swept back to hers and his hand came up to cover the hand that was still wiping on his cheek. "It's fine. And I already told you not to call me _Uchiha-san, _right, Sakura?"

The warmth of the hand holding hers was very distracting but she heard the words he uttered. Finally realizing their current position and proximity she took her hand away from his and sat back down on her chair. "Um... right." She avoided his gaze and looked back down on her almost untouched bento. "I told you to call me Sasuke, didn't I?" Sasuke said. She looked up at him. "It would sound weird if people heard you calling your boyfriend by his last name." He continued.

_Oh... What else was I expecting? _She couldn't deny there was a bit of disappointment inside her as he heard him say those words. Before she could reply, he reached out and snatched the chopsticks from her and said, "Let me do that for you,"

Sasuke took a piece from the bento and faced Sakura, poised to feed her.

They continued like that, feeding each other in turns. Once, in Sasuke's turn in feeding her, the meatball fell down right in the middle of it's flight to Sakura, rolled to the edge of the table, and splattered ungracefully onto the tiled floor of the cafeteria. Grimacing at the mess they just made, they looked at each other, and suddenly burst out laughing. Well, Sakura did, but she heard Sasuke chuckle more than was when Sakura noticed that Sasuke had a dimple. It was adorable. By that time, the awkward atmosphere around them earlier vanished like a bubble. She felt as if she was laughing wholeheartedly with a friend she had known for a very long time.

It was weird. It felt as if they were the only people in the cafeteria despite the cacophony of noise and prying eyes looking at them. By the time they finished eating, Sasuke volunteered to take her to her next class. Finding nothing wrong with that suggestion, they walked off to Sakura's next class. During the short walk to the next building, they chatted a bit. She told – well, complained, actually – how difficult and time-consuming it was to be this school's student council at the same time as being Class 3's president. She discovered that Sasuke belonged in Class 3-C, the class handled by Hatake Kakashi-sensei, her History teacher. Sasuke also told her that he and his friends had a band, and that he was its vocalist. She never knew he was a singer. Well, he did have a nice tenor voice. Then, she had an idea.

"Hey, can I come during your rehearsals?" Sakura asked him as innocently as she could. She was certain he'd refuse if he knew that she wanted to go just because she wanted to hear him sing. "Why?" He asked, his eyes looking at her suspiciously. She tried to say her next lines with the most uncocerned tone she could. "It's only normal for a girlfriend to watch her boyfriend's band rehearsal, right?" She crossed her fingers, hoping he'd buy it.

"Well, if you say it like that, then it's fine." Sasuke answered. Inner Sakura did a mental victory dance at that. Then, Sasuke faced her, and told her in a solemn voice, "But you are not allowed to bring anyone else. Understood?" She nodded and raised her right hand theatrically. "I swear."

* * *

_**A/N: So, whaddya think? Please send me a review for your comments, suggestions, or constructive criticisms. =) **_

_**It would really help me a lot too if somebody introduced me to a beta-reader. Buh-bye! See ya guys again next time.  
**_


	21. Chapter 20: My Adorable Big Brother

_**A/N: BELATED HAPPY FATHERS' DAY TO ALL OF OUR DADDIES!**_

_** AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO GREET MY FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER, EDWARD ANTHONY MASEN CULLEN, A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!**_

_**Anyways, now that we're done with all the greetings, let's get back to business. Hmm... I'm pretty much in a good mood right now. I've just discovered that the numbers of my reviewers have skyrocketed from a four to eleven! I mean, how cool is that! Sure, I miss the days that I used to have twenty or more reviews but I still feel grateful. I totally salute you guys for supporting my admittedly inconsistent story.**_

_** I need to point out two things before y'all start reading; one, this is - again - unrevised, and two, this chapter is mostly just a filler. I was feeling a little giddy when I was writing this chapter so, naturally, it came out as a bit too fluffy and all. I blame that on the lack of romantic excitement in my life, except for the books I read and movies I watch. *sob***_

_**Ooo-kay, before I go into a state of self-pity-induced despression, you guys can now be assured that I'll be updating mostly every other week, or possibly earlier. Much to my annoyance, that's the best I could do right now. I'm going to taking an freshman admission test for the number one university in our country for college(*bites nails* maybe I'll fail. Noooo!), and now that I'm a senior in high school, I was transferred to a section full of grade-conscious robots who have absolutely no sense of humor. I bet all they do is study. Sigh, I feel like ripping my hair out and run screaming whenever class starts. They're too scary! They barely talk to me. Another sigh.**_

_**Um, so... yeah. Ignore that rant just now. What I'm trying to say is that I'll be balancing my studies and this fic in my schedule in the best manner I can and I hope you guys bear with me.**_

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_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

"_Hey, can I come during your rehearsals?" Sakura asked him as innocently as she could. She was certain he'd refuse if he knew that she wanted to go just because she wanted to hear him sing. "Why?" He asked, his eyes looking at her suspiciously. She tried to say her next lines with the most uncocerned tone she could. "It's only normal for a girlfriend to watch her boyfriend's band rehearsal, right?" She crossed her fingers, hoping he'd buy it._

"_Well, if you say it like that, then it's fine." Sasuke answered. Inner Sakura did a mental victory dance at that. Then, Sasuke faced her, and told her in a solemn voice, "But you are not allowed to bring anyone else. Understood?" She nodded and raised her right hand theatrically. "I swear."_

* * *

Today was finally the end of another weekday, Friday. So far, Sakura was doing well on her part being Sasuke's girlfriend. It wasn't so bad. She'd have the time to hang around him and know different menial stuff about him. Most of the times, she felt like she finally had her first guy bestfriend, which was how she imagined her true relationship with Sasuke was.

But sometimes, Sasuke even acts like her annoying big brother. She remembered him bugging her the whole time to eat veggies once during lunch time, and him reminding her not to overwork herself too much being the school's first middle-schooler student council president. She laughed at the memory. Back when she was young, she desperately wished that she would have an older brother and a guy bestfriend; and here she was, getting the both of them in a single person. Sakura felt truly blessed.

Now, she was heading off to the only class she and Sasuke had at the same time, Drama Class. It came as such a relief to Sakura to hear that Drama Class was cancelled last week because of the Evaluation Meeting the teachers had to have last Friday. But now, she was sure they'd have to do better now that Anko-sensei would have a reason to work their asses off. Good thing she already had her lines practiced and memorized, though she still had doubts on doing the part successfully.

As she trudged off to her locker, she noticed a spiky-haired man shutting his locker closed. Coming up with a crazy idea, she giggled under her breath. Sakura sneaked up behind him as silently as she could. Then, she covered his eyes with her hands, it bothered her that she had to tippy-toe to reach his eye level. Why did he have to be so tall?

"Guess who?" she whispered, trying to change her voice to avoid him from recognizing her. Without pausing, he answered, "Sakura," Huffing petulantly, she uncovered his eyes grudgingly. Sasuke turned around to face her. Unable to stop herself, she pouted. "Mou, you're no fun at all, Sasuke-san. How did you know it was me?" She asked him, raising her eyebrow.

"Who else would have the guts to do that to me?" He smirked, taunting her, as if telling her that she was crazy to think that she'd have a chance at sneaking up on him. Sakura frowned. _Well, he did have a point at that._

Sasuke patted her on the head, saying, "You'll never catch me off guard, Sakura-_chan_." He used the name he liked to call her with when he wanted to annoy her by treating her like a little kid.

He knew it annoyed her when he treated her like that. However, she decided to get along with it. She'd plan her revenge later on. "You just wait, Sasuke-_nii_-_chan_, I'll definitely catch you off guard next time." Sasuke smirked and mussed her pink hair. "Hey!" Sakura exclaimed. Ducking to avoid his destructive hand, she smacked him on the arm. Irked, she made a face at him.

Sakura plucked the red ribbon from its knotted position by the back of her head. She stuck the ribbon between her lips as she tried to fix her pink hair with both hands. Sakura was unaware of the pitch black eyes watching her do so with intense curiosity.

She was having a hard time fixing her hair because it was quite long. Sakura considered cutting it short. "Ne, Sasuke-nii-chan, do you think I should cut my hair short?" Sakura asked, maintaining her little sister character. She looked at Sasuke awaiting his reply. She really was planning to cut her hair short if he thought it wouldn't look weird on her. Sasuke seemed to think about his answer carefully. Then he looked directly at her and answered, "No, I think you look perfect just the way you are."

Sakura was taken aback by that answer. She expected Sasuke to say something sarcastic or big brotherly, not some kind of indirect praise. She wasn't sure how to react to that. Before she could ask him what exactly did he mean by that, he continued, "Besides, they might mistake you for an elementary school student if your hair gets anymore shorter, ne, Sakura-chan?" He chuckled at the indignant expression she may have unconsciously made after that comment.

Sakura found that she liked hearing Sasuke laugh, even though most of the times it was at her own dignity's expense. She harrumphed at him and stomped off to her own locker. She heard another snicker from Sasuke. With her back to him, she smiled. Sakura really did like his laughs.

* * *

_**A/N: I like Sasuke's laughs too! :' Except his sarcastic-psychopath laugh I usually hear from him whenever I watch new episodes of Naruto. Actually, I'm very depressed with the way how Sasuke is ending up in the anime. Sigh, I have to admit he's starting to creep me out. Maybe it was too much Orochimaru and Madara influence. Tsk, tsk.  
**_

_**Haha, anyways... How was it? Tell me all your comments, suggestions, violent reactions, or just gush about it in your review. Just click the button down there and lemme know! :)  
**_


	22. Chapter 21: Off to Uzumaki Residence

_**A/N: Hello, guys! I'm back after three months. Sorry for the ultra-mega late update. I've got a thousand reasons for why I was late this much, but I'd rather you read the story than my pathetic attempts at reasoning. But for those who wonder, I've been missing in action so long because of this: a bad case of senioritis. **_

_**Sigh, I never realized being a senior in high school would be so busy. I had to fill out applications for my college, take review sessions every weekend for the admissions test, review for my tests in school, do reports and projects, and lastly, write a short story that will be submitted to a publishing company. I had no idea it was a inter-school contest in our city until they sent me a letter telling me I'm one of the twenty finalists. Only shows that I barely listen to my teachers. -_- But still, it was good I was chosen as a finalist. :) **_

_***This chapter is un-beta-ed yet again. :|**_

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* * *

_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_She was having a hard time fixing her hair because it was quite long. Sakura considered cutting it short. "Ne, Sasuke-nii-chan, do you think I should cut my hair short?" Sakura asked, maintaining her little sister character. She looked at Sasuke awaiting his reply. She really was planning to cut her hair short if he thought it wouldn't look weird on her. Sasuke seemed to think about his answer carefully. Then he looked directly at her and answered, "No, I think you look perfect just the way you are."_

_Sakura was taken aback by that answer. She expected Sasuke to say something sarcastic or big brotherly, not some kind of indirect praise. She wasn't sure how to react to that. Before she could ask him what exactly did he mean by that, he continued, "Besides, they might mistake you for an elementary school student if your hair gets anymore shorter, ne, Sakura-chan?" He chuckled at the indignant expression she may have unconsciously made after that comment. _

_Sakura found that she liked hearing Sasuke laugh, even though most of the times it was at her own dignity's expense. She harrumphed at him and stomped off to her own locker. She heard another snicker from Sasuke. With her back to him, she smiled. Sakura really did like his laughs._

* * *

Sakura was having a difficult time deciding what she should wear. A sleeveless top matched with a floral ruffled skirt or a dress?

Today, she was going with Sasuke to the infamous Uzumaki residence for their weekly jamming. As she had promised to the Uchiha, she didn't take any friend with her. She was excited to see and hear how the band would perform, especially how their vocalist, Sasuke, would sing. Sakura heard that their band never performed anywhere outside the soundproof music room of the Uzumaki residence, but she now had the special opportunity to listen to their performance.

Sighing in exasperation, she snagged the top and skirt from her closet to put them on. The rosette knew she was running out of time. She took too much time on trying to decide what to : trying. She figured it shouldn't matter much what she'd wear, she'd just be some kind of audience today, anyway. Applying just a bit of mascara and a light pink lip gloss, she noticed a blue handkerchief folded by her vanity table.

It was the hanky Sai lent her when she was harassed by Ayaka and her cohorts. She had washed and ironed it last week but she'd forgotten to return it to him. Taking it, she stuffed it in her purse so that she wouldn't forget it or she figured she could even give it to him once she had the chance. Sakura wore her black-rimmed glasses, she knew she'd have no chance at finding Sasuke from afar if she didn't wear them. Besides, Sakura found it quite disconcerting to be unable to read anything far from her. Damn her father for being near-sighted.

Before leaving her room, she put on a cherry-shaped hair clip to stop her bangs from obstructing her view whenever it would escape its place behind her ear. Smiling at her reflection on her mirror, she thought she looked decent enough.

* * *

Sakura was half-running by the time she jumped out of the bus heading to the train station. Sasuke and herself decided to meet up at the train station and go to Naruto's house from there. And just as the girl expected(and feared), she was late. The train station wasn't as packed as usual, and as a couple that blocked Sakura's view ahead moved on, she caught sight of Sasuke. There he was, sitting by a wooden bench seemingly thinking hard about something. He was wearing a white v-necked shirt under a black hoodie and black jeans paired with black hi-top sneakers. Then, he fished out his phone from his jacket pocket. Sakura cocked her head in confusion as she saw Sasuke's expression changefrom stoic to exasperated. She figured he was reading a text message, but what kind of text message would make normally-stoic Sasuke annoyed? Shaking off her curiosity, she continued heading off to Sasuke's direction.

"Hi," Sakura greeted sheepishly. Why did she ever have to be late at a very crucial day? And that reminded her, she discovered from movies she'd watched that the girlfriend should always be the one early for meetings like this. Mentally, smacking herself on the head, Inner Sakura announced: _another fluke for Sakura Haruno, minus one point._

"Hey," Sasuke greeted back, but Sakura noticed he looked rather distracted. Normally, he' be starting right now to tease her for being late. Sitting down beside him on the bench, she said, "I'm sorry I was late. Were you waiting for long?" Looking at him, she tried to figure out what exactly was wrong with him. "No, it's fine. I was a bit early, anyway." He answered, not quite looking at her. Worriedly, she asked, "Are you feeling ill, Sasuke-san?" Sakura didn't know what else to blame for his odd behavior but sickness.

And that was when he finally looked at her. "Huh? What? No, I'm not. Why do you think that?" Sasuke asked her. It didn't escape her notice that the boy appraised her from head to foot. She mentally deflated when she saw Sasuke's expression change to a frown. Was there something wrong with what she was wearing?

"Um, It's nothing. I just thought you looked a little... distracted earlier." She answered, still bothered by his expression after thoroughly inspecting what she looked like. Sighing quietly, she looked away. Maybe she should've just worn the dress. Well, there was nothing she could do about it now.

Sasuke, totally oblivious, stood up and faced her. She looked up at him, and saw that he was smirking at her. Confused about his sudden change in mood, she frowned up at him. Then, Sasuke reached down and lightly patted her head and then mussed her hair. "You worry too much, Chibi-Sakura." He chuckled at her expression and ambled off to the direction of the train they'd be boarding to Naruto-san's house. "Let's go, Sakura-chan. You'll get lost if you don't stay close to nii-chan." Even with his back to her, she could see Sasuke smirking in mirth. Sakura smiled at that. He seems to be back to normal, and that was a great relief for her.

Running to catch up to him, she pouted, complained halfheartedly, "Mou, Sasuke-nii-chan, I'm not _that_ short!" And she was rewarded with a rare half-smile from the black-haired teen. "Yes, you are."

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_**A/N: So, what do you think? I hope it wasn't too OOC. And I apologize if its too short, but I still tried to add as much fluff as I could. **_

_**Tell me what you think in your reviews. Just click the button down there and gush all you want about the chapter. I'll be waiting for the reviews.**_

_**By the by, I have no beta reader right now, so if someone could recommend me to a beta reader, it would be great.**_

_**Ow-kay, my job's done here. See you all, next time. Hopefully, it'll be soon. :)**_


	23. Chapter 22: Strawberries & Shampoos

_**A/N: There is only one explanation I can offer for my late update: Senior year is crazy! Sigh.**_

_**I thank my readers for their appreciation and support this story of mine. I salute you. :)**_

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_**My awesome and faithful reviewers:**_

_**~IceMaidenOfLegend **_

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_PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:_

_Sasuke reached down and lightly patted her head and then mussed her hair. "You worry too much, Chibi-Sakura." He chuckled at her expression and ambled off to the direction of the train they'd be boarding to Naruto-san's house. "Let's go, Sakura-chan. You'll get lost if you don't stay close to nii-chan." Even with his back to her, she could see Sasuke smirking in mirth. Sakura smiled at that. He seems to be back to normal, and that was a great relief for her._

_Running to catch up to him, she complained halfheartedly, "Mou, Sasuke-nii-chan, I'm not _that_ short!" And she was rewarded with a rare half-smile from the black-haired teen. "Yes, you are."_

* * *

They arrived at Naruto's house a few minutes late, thanks to Sakura. The two were invited in and welcomed by Naruto's red-haired mother, Kushina-san. She was a very nice and sunny person, even going as far as to insist that they call her 'Kushina-kaa-chan'. She reminded Sakura of her mother, Haruno Nadeshiko, and she smiled at their similarities. She knew they'd get along well. It made her miss her mom much more.

The two, Sasuke and Sakura ended up sitting by the living room and drinking tea while waiting for the other band members to show up since they were late too, and Naruto was busy trying to clean his room after a litany of sermon from his mother.

Sneaking a glance at Sasuke while sipping her tea, she blushed as she remembered the unlikely events that happened during their ride on the train...

* * *

By the time they boarded the train, almost every seat was occupied, except one. And Sasuke, being a true gentleman through and through, chivalrously offered the seat to Sakura while she replied with a quick smile and a "Thanks," As the train rumbled to continue on its route, the pink-haired girl was having a hard time finding a spot to look at when Sasuke, in all his black-clad glory, was standing right in front of her looking cool and composed while having his hand up over his head, holding onto the handles. She felt like she was staring at a huge billboard of a [hot] male model, so to avoid herself from getting a tell-tale nose bleed, she busied herself with the task of fiddling with her cellphone.

When they arrived at the next stop, an elderly lady entered and Sakura, in an act if kindness, offered the baa-chan her seat, leaving her and Sasuke standing and holding onto the handles attached to the metal rails for balance. The girl was busy staring at the landscape by the window outside speeding by, so, she was startled when all of a sudden, somebody blew on her ear. Unable to help herself, she jumped a little at the sensation. Whipping her head around, she saw Sasuke looking at her, ineffectively hiding his chuckle under a brief fit of fake cough. Narrowing her eyes at him, she hissed, "What?" while rubbing her tingling ear. "Nothing. I'm just surprised you had to stretch your arm that up just to reach the handle." The dark-haired teen answered as offhandedly as he could. But Sakura could easily pick up on the fact that he was rubbing her unsatisfactory height on her face. Sakura made a face at him.

She was all the more pissed off to know that what he said was actually true. Because of his ridiculous height, the handle was almost just beside his head while Sakura still had to reach up to catch a hold of the safety handle. The girl knew wearing heels could have fixed these kind of problems in an instant but she was never really fond of those death traps called stilettos. Thinking of a smart aleck reply to Sasuke's not-so-subtle criticism, she answered back as defiantly as she could. And their banter continued on, oblivious to the stares of the passengers of the train staring at them as they argued like a married couple.

By the time they arrived at the next stop, a humungous number of passengers boarded the train. As soon as the doors slid open, the people flooded in from the left side of the train. Due to the pushing and squeezing in, the pair was forced to the back end of the train. And much to Sakura's annoyance, she bumped quite forcefully against a heavy-built man carrying a briefcase as he forced his way in into the overcrowded space of the train before the doors shut close. Finally, the doors closed and the train rumbled on to acceleration.

Sakura, having been thrown out of balance by the sudden collision, was squished uncomfortably between two strangers while her handbag was also stuck somewhere between them. She was just about to suffocate, because both the strangers were tall (it seemed like almost everyone was taller than her, much to her exasperation), when an arm came into view and wrapped around her shoulders. The onyx-eyed teen hauled her off from her squeezed position from the two persons, while muttering a short "Excuse me," for slithering his way in to where Sakura was now. Sasuke took her handbag from her and forced her to the corner of the back of the train. With nowhere left to go, Sakura was left with no choice but to have her back against the fiber glass window with Sasuke protectively looming over her. Sighing in relief, Sakura told him, "Thanks a lot,".

She couldn't help but notice how good Sasuke smelt in this kind of extremely close proximity. Instantly, she pressed herself back against the window in a vain attempt at putting space between them. The pink-haired girl felt like blushing; having Sasuke around her was enough of a miracle, but having him _this_ close felt seriously overwhelming. She was looking down, trying to ignore the fact that she was pressed very close to Sasuke, their chests almost touching, and that she could feel him breathing softly just above her left ear. All of a sudden, she heard some kind of sniffing sound, and then Sasuke leaning even more closer to her. He laid his chin on the top of her head. "Is it just me, or do you really smell like strawberries?" That was him, and she heard him sniff at her hair again.

If somebody told her that one day she'd be stuck to the back of the train, her back almost velcro-ed to the window, and that somebody would be sniffing at her hair while said person was pressed uncharacteristically close to her, she'd be telling them they were insane. But now, she felt oddly unselfconscious, as if it was only normal that this kind of occurrence would be happening.

Looking up at him, she answered indignantly, "What? It's my shampoo,". He looked down at her as if she was joking. "Who has shampoo that smells like strawberries? Couldn't you have picked a more normal scent?" She rolled her eyes at him. "Everyone. And it does _not _smell weird!" She answered defensively. At that, Sasuke laid his head on top of hers again and answered, "Didn't say it does, Sakura-chan." Sakura felt an unheeded smile split across her face.

_So he did like it, after all._

As they lapsed into a companionable silence, Sasuke suddenly broke it by mumbling at the top of her head, "Just for the record, _I _don't have shampoo that smells like strawberries... or anything fruity for that matter, just so you know." At that comment, Sakura couldn't help but giggle.

They arrived at Naruto's house after a total of twenty minutes, the five minute walk from the station to Naruto's house was filled with more banter.

Sakura couldn't believe that for the total of twenty or so minutes she'd spent this Sunday with Sasuke was already filled with so much heart-thudding and swoon-worthy moments. Oddly, she felt as if she was facing a ravine, and that she was very close to falling head-first into it, and there was almost no way to stop it.

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_**A/N: How was it? I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. Please tell me what you think on your reviews and don't be afraid to tell me any constructive criticisms cause I know my writing needs to be improved and I would like to hear your suggestions on how to improve it. :)**_

_**Till next time!**_

_**~ WatashiNoTenshi07. ^^,  
**_


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